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MY 

Handkerchief  Garden. 


CHAPTER    I. 


ROm    IT    BGGAO. 


LONG  the  edge  of  the 
Sound,  from  Stamford  to 
New  York,  we  had  looked 
everywhere  in  the  hope  that 
we  might  find  a  small  house, 
a  little  garden,  and  a  low 
rent.  These  things  seldom 
grow  together.  Houses  with 
no  land,  land  enough  with 
big  houses,  and  both  land 
and  houses  in  plenty  at  high  rents.  At  last  it  was 
found  ;  a  six-room  house  with  a  mere  handkerchief 
of  a  garden,  measui  ing  about  one-tliirtieth  of  an  acre, 
or  about  as  big  as  a  city  back  yard.  The  soil  was 
a  wet,  heavy  clay,  full  of  stones,  and  shaded  by  a 
number  of  tall  trees  growing  on  the  next  lot.  In 
March,  1887,  we  moved  to  the  place,  and  on  the 
twenty-first  we  paid  twenty-five  cents  for  one  ounce 

(I) 


2  MV    HANDKERCHIEF    GARDEN. 

of  Tennis  Ball  Lettuce  seed.  So  it  was  the  scrap 
of  a  garden  began,  and  thereon  does  hang  the 
more  or  less  learned  remarks  that  make  this  book. 
There  are  people  so  constituted  that  they  cannot 
see  anything  remarkable  in  a  paper  of  seeds.  A  seed 
is  potential  wealth — bran  new  wealth  that  does  not 
exist,  but  w^aits  the  partnership  of  nature  and  the 
gardener.  Seeds  are  about  the  cheapest  thing  in  the 
world.  At  wholesale  a  cent  will  buy  a  hundred  seeds 
of  lettuce.  An  acre  of  ground,  if  managed  by  a 
man  who  knows  his  trade,  will  produce  in  one  sea- 
son 40,000  heads  of  lettuce.  New  York  will  calmly 
eat  every  head  at  three  cents  each  and  cry  for  more. 
You  would  probably  pay  at  the  store  five  cents  a 
head  or  $2,000  for  the  lot. 

Oh!   Figures  can  be  made  to  say  anything. 

Think  so? 

All  the  same,  you  and  I  and  the  rest  of  the  folks  do 
pay  $2,000  to  somebody  for  that  yield  of  lettuce  many 
times  over  every  spring. 

It's  quite  true  the  actual  grower  may  not  get  it  all. 
He  seldom  does  and  thereon  might  be  written  a 
tale  of  woe  that  would  move  the  world  to  tears  had  it 
not,  poor  world,  been  listening  to  the  gruesome  story 
for  about  seven  thousand  years.  There  are  problems 
in  social  economies  so  old  that  they  have  lost  the 
power  of  speech.  This  is  one  of  them,  and  it  was  in 
our  handkerchief  garden  we  dug  up  a  great  truth  that 
may  help  to  solve  this  very  problem.  It  was  a  dusty 
old  truth  and  smelled  of  the  earth,  yet,  by  decking  it 
out  in  a  few  sprigs  of  pungent  parsley,  and  framing  it 
with  the  enticing  lettuce,  the  persuasive  pea,  and  the 
inspiring  cauliflower,  I  hope  to  set  it  forth  as  a  dish 
worthy  the  intelligent  reader's  grateful  digestion. 

A  garden  is  a  queer  place.  You  can  dig  up  facts 
and  greens  with  the  same  hoe — provided  you  know  a 


HOW   IT   BEGAN.  3 

fact  when  you  see  it.  Therefore,  it  happens  that  in 
presenting  this  dish  of  greens  I  may  add  sundry  facts 
for  dressing,  the  same  facts  being  duly  dug  up  in  the 
same  handkerchief  garden.  Persons  of  a  romantic  and 
expansive  frame  of  mind  have  written  about  gardens 
without  regard  to  the  facts  growing  therein.  One 
particularly  aggravating  person  even  wrote  a  tearful 
account  of  one  sad  summer  in  a  garden,  and  the  world 
has  been  delighted  to  read  it  many  times  over.  My 
handkerchief  garden  is  on  a  plane  of  more  solemn  im- 
port, and  its  great  moral  lessons  are  not  addressed  to 
persons  of  a  light  and  sportive  nature.  They  appeal 
rather  to  those  finer  instincts  of  the  heart  that  cluster 
round  the  dinner  table  and  the  green-grocer's  bill. 

A  pinch  of  seed  in  a  paper  bag  is  about  as  useless  a 
thing  as  you  can  find.  The  seed  must  be  joined  to 
three  great  facts  in  nature — heat,  moisture  and  light, 
if  new  wealth  is  to  reward  our  labors.  Lettuce  seed 
will  sprout  in  a  temperature  ranging  from  60"  to  70°  by 
day,  and  not  less  than  40°  by  night.*  Our  room  had 
a  west  window  and  was  warmed  by  a  small  stove. 
Here  were  the  elements  of  horticultural  success. 
There  was  no  gas  in  the  room.  This  is  most  import- 
ant— for  in  my  experience  it  is  difficult,  almost  im- 
possible, to  raise  plants  of  any  kind  where  gas  is 
burned.  A  single  gas-jet  will  spoil  the  air  as  fast  as 
six  men.  Plants  must  have  pure  air,  and  as  they  can 
not  go  out  for  a  walk  every  time  they  have  a  head- 
ache, they  give  up  in  despair  in  a  room  where  a  gas- 
lamp  has  ruined  the  air  for  breathing  purposes.  The 
moral  of  all  this  is  just  here;  if  plants  will  not  thrive 
in  bad  air,  how  can  we  ?  We  do  not.  There  is,  it  is 
true,  no  authenticated  record  of  a  death  by  reason  of  a 
gas-light,  yet  it  is  also  true  that  we  are  hurt  in  greater 

*  All  temperature  records  here  are  by  Fahrenheit's  scale. 


4  MY   HANDKERCHIEF   GARDEN. 

or  less  degree  by  every  lamp  that  burns  in  our  houses. 
The  real  moral  is — ventilate  your  rooms. 

To  secure  the  union  of  the  three  facts,  heatj  light, 
and  moisture,  and  bring  them  to  our  lettuce  seed,  we 
procured  a  six-inch  flower-pot,  worth,  perhaps,  ten 
cents  at  retail.  By  dint  of  digging  in  the  garden  I 
managed  to  get  a  few  lumps  of  half  frozen  soil,  and 
put  them  to  dry  on  the  floor  by  the  fire.  In  a  few 
hours  the  soil  was  soft  enough  to  break  up  into  dry 
mould  in  the  hand,  and  I  filled  the  pot  nearly  full, 
scattered  the  lettuce  seed  on  top,  sifted  more  soil 
over  it  through  the  fingers,  and  gently  pressed  it 
down  firm.  A  sprinkle  of  water  shaken  over  the  soil 
by  hand,  wet  the  seed,  and  then  the  pot  was  placed 
in  a  warm  corner  behind  the  stove,  and  covered  with 
an  old  newspaper.  Two  factors  were  thus  provided, 
heat  and  moisture.  The  third  could  be  added  after- 
wards, as  soon  as  the  seeds  began  to  stir  with  young 
life.  For  three  days  the  flower-pot  garden  was 
examined  night  and  morning,  and,  if  the  soil  was  dry, 
a  little  more  water  was  added.  On  the  fourth  day 
the  surface  was  broken  by  tender  young  things  just 
poking  their  green  fingers  up  to  reach  the  light  and 
air.  The  pot  was  at  once  placed  in  the  window,  and 
there  it  stayed  about  six  weeks,  and  was  then  com- 
pletely filled  with  young  lettuce  plants  about  three 
inches  high,  and  hanging  over  the  sides  of  the  pot  in 
a  luxuriant,  pale-green  mass.  So  it  was  my  handker- 
chief garden  began  in  my  study  window. 


.^^'4. 
/^ 


WHAT     iVAS    DONE     WITH   IT,  5 

CHAPTER  11. 

UJBAT  mA$  Done  ojitb  it. 

HEN  the  snows  of  March  melted  away, 
the  garden  came  into  sight.  The  former 
tenant  had  apparently  regarded  the 
garden  as  the  proper  place  to  deposit 
the  waste  of  a  generation.  Bones,  clam- 
shells, rejected  shoes  and  cans,  were 
plentiful.  Added  to  this,  it  had  not 
been  dug  over  since  the  last  crop,  and  corn-stubble 
covered  half  the  space.  The  carpenters  at  work  on 
the  house  had  tramped  the  soil  down  hard,  and  in 
a  corner  under  the  trees  were  the  remains  of  count- 
less weeds  nipped  by  last  year's  frost. 

A  very  slight  examination  showed  that  the  soil  had 
one  great  merit.  It  was  strong.  A  mass  of  rocks, 
weathered  by  the  storms  of  a  iiundred  years,  and 
grey  with  moss,  had  sent  down  their  fertilizing  dust, 
and  the  tall  trees  had  every  year  carpeted  the  place 
with  their  leaves.  There  had  also  been  hens  and  pigs 
on  the  place,  and  these,  too,  had  done  what  they 
could  to  contribute  to  the  future  crops.  Rumor  also 
had  it  that  in  the  previous  year  it  had  been  heavily 
manured,  and  had  borne  a  large  crop  of  corn  and 
beans.  Here  was  the  problem.  The  place  measured 
about  eighty  feet  on  one  street,  and  seventy-five  on 
another.  The  house  stood  just  south  of  the  center, 
near  the  street.  A  rocky  cliff  behind  the  house,  while 
very  picturesque,  was,  of  course,  valueless  for  any 
purpose,  being  too  steep  for  a  foothold,  and  too  bare 
to  produce  anything  save  mosses  and  lichens.  What 
could  we  do  with  it.     The  most  simple  way  to  treat 


6  MY   HANDKERCHIEF   GARDEN. 

the  place  would  be  to  sow  grass  seed  over  all  the 
ground,  and  keep  it  in  grass.  Merely  to  let  it  run  up 
to  grass  would  be  cheap  but  ugly.  If  in  grass  at  all, 
it  must  be  kept  as  a  lawn.  A  lawn  would  certainly 
look  well,  save  all  care  and  expense,  except  the 
weekly  clipping  to  keep  the  grass  in  order.  That 
means  a  lawn-mower,  costing  ten  dollars.  It  means 
labor  in  pushing  it  over  the  grass,  not  less  than  fif- 
teen times  every  summer.  It  is  doubtful  if  this  could 
be  done  for  less  than  fifteen  dollars.  Some  of  my 
neighbors  tell  me  it  costs  $1.50  a  week  for  five  months 
each  year  to  keep  a  small  lawn  in  order.  The  cost 
on  this  place,  including  the  mower,  would  not  be  less 
than  twenty-five  dollars  the  first  year.  The  cost  of 
preparing  the  ground  and  sowing  the  seed  would  not 
be  less  than  four  dollars  more,  and  each  spring,  fer- 
tilizer to  the  value  of  two  dollars  would  be  required. 
It  began  to  look  as  if  the  cheapest  thing  that  could 
be  done  would  be  pretty  expensive.  Of  course,  the 
place  could  be  left  to  take  care  of  itself,  but  this 
would  be  morally  wrong.  There  were  gardens  on 
every  side  kept  free  from  weeds  at  a  greater  or  less 
expenditure  of  time,  labor  and  mone3^  To  suffer 
weeds  to  bloom  and  scatter  their  seeds  over  these 
gardens,  and  thus  to  injure  the  neighbors'  property, 
would  be  inexcusable.  No  man  has  a  right  to  propa- 
gate weeds  near  any  cultivated  land.  It  is  simply 
unjust  to  permit  weeds  of  any  kind  to  grow  on 
your  land  while  others  are  trying  to  keep  them  out 
of  their  land.  A  lawn  is,  therefore,  a  moral  measure, 
as  it  checks  the  growth  of  weeds,  and  by  its  beauty 
enhances  the  value  of  the  estate,  and  of  all  those 
near  it. 

That  settled  the  matter.  Something  must  be  done 
with  the  ground.  It  must  be  either  laid  down  to 
grass,  or  cultivated  as  a  garden.     The  chief  cost  of  a 


WHAT    WAS    DONE     WITH   IT,  7 

lawn  is  the  labor.  There  was  my  own  labor.  Could 
I  not  push  the  lawn-mower  myself?  Many  of  the 
gentlemen  near  by  did  so.  Why  could  I  not  do  like- 
wise ?  No  reason  whatever  why  I  might  not  in  this 
way  save  part  of  the  expense  of  a  lawn. 

Now  a  lawn-mower  is  very  well  in  its  way.     It's  not 
very  hard  work  to  use  it,  and  it  keeps  a  man  out  in  the 
air  and  sunshine.     The  chief  objection  is  that  it  is  not 
work  enough.     It   pays   to  work  out  of  doors.     For 
every  man  who  works  a  part  of  the  day  in  the  house 
there  should  be  several   hours  devoted  to  exercise  in 
the  open  air.     A  garden   is  a  sanitary  measure.     It 
takes  you  out  on  the  sweet,  healthful  ground.     A  gar- 
den is  a  good  place  to  bury  headaches.     That  settled 
the  matter,  and  I  decided  to  use  all  the  available  land 
for  a    flower  and   kitchen    garden.     There  were  two 
other    reasons,    beside    the    sanitary    advantage,    for 
having  a  garden.     In    suburban  tovynsand   villages 
the  rent  is  for  the  house,  and  the  lot  of  land  on  which 
it   stands   is  practically  thrown   in   free.     It  costs   no 
more  to  have  the  house  without  the  land  than  with  it, 
for  as  soon  as    the  land    becomes    too    valuable,  the 
houses  cover  all  the  land  as  in  a  city.     If  the  land  is 
used  for  a  garden  it  will  make  a  solid  financial  return, 
while  a  lawn  pays  nothing  beyond  the  doubtful  value 
of  looking  pretty  from   the  road  and  the  Christian 
grace  of  doing  as  you  would  be  done  by  in  the  matter 
of  weeds.     All  this  had  been  settled  when  the  lettuce 
seed  was  bought,  and  on  the  seventh  of  May,  1887,  I 
put  spade  in  the  new  venture. 

It  wasn't  really  a  spade,  for  a  digging  fork  is  better. 
On  that  seventh  of  May  I  bought  a  digging  fork,  hoe 
and  steel  rake  at  a  total  expenditure  of  $1.38,  and  the 
handkerchief  garden  began.  I  had  previously  bought 
for  $1  60  ten  plants  of  the  "Jessie"  strawberry,  and 
they  had  been  kept  in  a  friend's  garden  while  absent 


8  MY   HANDKERCHIEF   GARDEN. 

from  home  during  a  part  of  April.  By  May  seventh 
all  were  dead  save  five,  and  the  first  work  done  was  to 
fork  up  a  little  spot  in  the  garden  and  set  out  those 
five  plants.  On  the  same  afternoon  the  pot  of  young 
lettuce  plants  was  brought  out  to  the  ground  and  a 
place,  four  feet  square,  was  forked  up  and  made 
smooth.  On  this  little  bed  was  set  out,  about  five 
inches  apart,  a  few  dozen  lettuce  plants.  There  were 
some  left  which  were  given  away  to  a  neighbor — the 
first  crop  for  the  season. 

The  soil  proved  to  be  very  tough  and  stiff,  and  one 
Italian  man  spent  one  day  in  trying  to  spade  it  ever 
and  nearly  perished  in  the  attempt.  After  that  I  •'Ud 
all  the  work  myself,  forking  up  the  ground  in  little 
beds  as  it  was  wanted.  This  labor,  with  the  tools  a'ld 
more  seeds,  brought  the  expense  of  the  garden  on  the 
first  cf  June  up  to  $5  88.  On  the  thirteenth  of  June 
the  first  lettuce  and  radishes  were  placed  on  my  table, 
and  the  garden  was  credited  with  the  first  return,  five 
cents  for  a  fine  head  of  lettuce  and  five  cents  for  a 
bunch  of  breakfast  radish. 

The  price  of  a  fair  average  head  of  lettuce  in  the 
village  store  on  that  day  was  five  cents.  I  had  had 
been  paying  that  sum  every  day  for  two  or  three 
weeks,  and  often  paid  more.  The  day  I  picked  that 
head  of  lettuce  I  saved  five  cents  on  the  bill  at  the 
store.  It  was  perfectly  fair  and  right  to  credit  the 
garden  with  the  retail  price  of  lettuce  for  that  day. 

My  labor?  Oh!  yes!  It  cost  labor  to  raise  it,  cost 
the  seed  and  the  flower  pot,  and  all  the  little  proces- 
sion of  odd  minutes  spent  in  caring  for  the  crop. 
These  were  worth  money,  if  my  time  was  worth  any- 
thing at  all.  My  time  is  worth  something  for  about 
five  hours  out  of  the  twenty-four.  The  time  spent  m 
caring  for  the  lettuce  plants  was  sirnply  unavailable  or 
"off  time"  of  no  value,  except  as  a  time  for  exercise. 


WHAT    WAS    DONE    WITH   IT.  9 

Exercise  then  must  be,  and  was  it  not  better  to  raise 
lettuce  for  my  table  than  to  trundle  an  unprofitable 
lawn-mower,  or  walk  the  streets  in  idleness.  Beside 
this,  every  hour  spent  in  the  garden  was  a  sanitary 
gain  and  therefore  a  commercial  gain  that  could  not  be 
expressed  in  money.  I  am  certain  that  I  buried  four- 
teen distinct  headaches  in  that  garden  in  one  summer 
at  a  decided  gain  in  medical  attendance.  It  is  cer- 
tainly fair,  then,  to  put  the  labor  in  the  garden  as 
free,  because  it  would  have  been  spent  on  something 
in  any  event.  Besides  this,  the  crop  from  the  garden 
was  a  real  money  return  for  my  labor.  Within  the 
next  thirty  days  we  used  on  our  table  or  gave  away 
thirty-five  heads  of  lettuce  at  an  avarage  price  of  five 
cents,  or  $1.75.  Some  of  the  plants  were  transplanted 
twice  and  the  space  occupied  by  the  mature  crop  was 
about  twelve  by  three  feet. 

I  knew  from  former  experience  in  the  business  that 
a  garden  could  be  made  to  pay.  How  much  I  resolved 
to  find  out,  as  soon  as  may  be,  and  for  this  purpose 
opened  an  account  with  my  little  plot,  which  account 
was  duly  made  up  and  balanced  at  the  end  of  the 
year.  Herein  is  set  forth  the  pros  and  cons  of  the 
whole  business. 

I  paid  out  for  labor,  seeds,  tools,  etc.,  just  $6.61. 
There  was  sent  to  my  table,  between  June  thirteenth 
and  November  first,  vegetables  of  all  kinds  to  the 
value  of  $25.82.  Besides  these  vegetables  there  were 
produced  sixty-four  strawberry  plants  (  Jessie  )  worth 
at  the  time,  as  the  Jessie  is  a  new  variety,  at  least  two 
cents  each,  or  $1.28.  This  made  a  total  return  from  the 
ground  of  $27.10.  Deducting  the  cash  paid  out  there 
was  just  $20.49  l^^t  as  the  final  result  of  my  summer's 
work. 

Pitiful  little  tale,  not  worth  recording. 

Think  so  ? 


10  MY    HANDKERCHIEF    GARDEN, 

It  is  small — only  a  trifling  matter  of  $20.49.  ^^  ^^^ 
same  time,  $20.49  ^^  $20.49  ^^^^  most  of  us  would  ac- 
cept it  with  a  cheerful  heart.  No  one  was  the  worse 
for  my  partnership  with  nature.  It  was  bran  new 
money  and  came  out  of  no  man's  pocket.  Our  table 
was  supplied  with  vegetables  for  over  four  months,  so 
that  no  purchases  (except  one  quart  of  onions)  were 
made  at  the  stores  for  this  time.  Besides  this,  not- 
withstanding a  rather  poor  season,  the  vegetables 
were  of  a  far  better  quality  than  could  be  purchased 
anywhere.  As  an  illustration  of  this  I  may  confess 
without  a  blush  that  I  ate  nine  cucumbers  a  day  for 
several  weeks  in  entire  safety  and  complete  satisfac- 
tion. To  buy  so  many  for  one  person  would  demand 
considerable  moral  courage,  not  alone  for  the  price, 
but  from  the  doubtful  character  of  cucumbers  two 
days  old.  Mine  often  reached  the  breakfast  table  in 
less  time  that  it  took  to  make  the  coffee — hence  their 
beautiful  innocence. 

Did  it  pay  ?  Would  it  not  have  been  better  to  lay 
the  lawn  to  grass,  and  to  trundle  a  lawn-mower  or 
toss  the  light  tennis  ball  ?  Can't  say.  I  am  not  a 
Tennis  Courtier.  But  I  do  know  that  out  of  the  ground 
comes  health  and  wealth.  Will  you  bring  the  children 
up  forever  on  canned  goods,  when  they  might  pull 
peas  and  good  times  out  of  the  same  ground.  A  home 
garden,  even  if  it  be  only  a  patch  like  an  extra  large 
handkerchief,  may  in  many  a  man's  life-accounJ 
make  all  the  difference  between  profit  and  loss 
between  a  dish  of  greens  and  a  lot  in  the  cemetery. 

From  a  recent  report  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor  Stalls 
tics  in  Connecticut  it  appears  that  forty-six  families, 
representing  twenty-nine  trades  and  living  in  differen:. 
parts  of  the  State,  were,  at  the  time  of  the  report, 
financially  unhappy.  The  total  income  of  the  forty- 
six    families  amounted    in    one    month    to    $2,475.36. 


WHAT    WAS    DONE     WITH    IT.  11 

-f heir  expenses  for  the  same  time  reached  $2,760.39 — 
an  average  loss  for  each  family  of  about  six  dollars. 

Income,  $2  a  day  ;   expenses,  $1.98 — happiness. 

Income,  $2  a  day  ;   expenses,  $2.01 — misery. 

There  is  a  fine  flavor  of  the  Casianea  vesca  about  this 
ancient  joke,  yet  under  its  humor  is  a  grim  truth. 
May  not  the  truth  about  these  Connecticut  families 
and  many  another  in  like  unhappy  plight  be  found— in 
the  garden?  The  report  does  not  say  that  these  forty- 
six  families  had  gardens,  yet  it  must  be  observed  that 
Connecticut  is  a  State  of  small  towns,  and  that  a  very 
large  part  of  the  population  live  in  houses  having 
more  or  less  ground.  The  report  does  state,  on  the 
other  hand,  that  one  of  the  large  items  in  the  expenses 
of  these  families  was  for  vegetables.  These  people  lost 
$1.50  a  week  for  each  household.  Could  not  that 
amount  have  been  taken  out  of  their  gardens? 

It  will  be  said  that  even  if  the  people  had  a  bit  of 
ground  it  would  not  pay  to  cultivate  it,  that  there  was 
no  time  for  the  work  in  the  garden,  and  that  the  in- 
terest or  rent  of  the  land  would  be  too  high  to  admit 
of  profit.  Is  that  so  ?  No.  It  is  just  the  other  way. 
In  small  towns  where  a  house  and  ground  are  leased 
the  rent  is  for  the  house,  and  the  land  is  practically 
free,  because  if  the  value  of  the  land  becomes  too  high 
the  houses  cover  the  entire  ground  or  a  large  part  of 
it,  as  in  a  city  block.  Besides  this  every  house  must 
have  space  for  light  and  air,  and  this  space  is  or  ought 
to  be  a  garden.  Certainly  if  a  man  has  space  round 
his  house,  and  he  suffers  it  to  go  to  waste  when  it 
might  produce  food,  he  is  morally  responsible  for  the 
less  he  puts  on  other  men  by  reason  of  his  unpaid 
debts.  As  for  the  time,  it  is  only  a  question  of  get- 
ting up  earlier  or  dropping  the  paper  to  tickle  the 
ground  with  a  hoe — and  better  business  any  day. 
Seeds,  tools  and  fertilizers  are  cheap,  and  if  there  be  a 


13  My    HANDKERCHIEF   GARDEN. 

will,  there  m^y  be  both  time  and  a  way.  All  of  these 
families  depended  in  part  for  their  support  on  the  labor 
of  Lheir  women  and  children.  Any  twelve-year-old 
boy  or  girl  could  have  put  something  from  the  garden 
on  the  family  table  and  been  all  the  better  for  it.  As 
wages  go  it  may  be  a  question  whether  any  young 
woman  staying  at  home  and  minding  the  garden  for 
three  months  would  not  earn  more  money  than  she 
could  get  in  a  mill  or  store.  Her  house  would  be  her 
market,  her  family  her  customers,  and  she  would  reap 
all  the  profits. 

There  are  the  young  folks.  Let  no  young  man  or 
young  woman  fancy  their  education  complete  with- 
out some  knowledge  of  the  growth  of  plants.  Garden- 
ing is  an  accomplishment  worth  far  more  than  the 
ability  to  struggle  through  a  sonata  on  the  piano — 
more  worthy  of  a  lady  too.  Labor  with  the  hands,  in 
partnership  with  nature,  on  the  sweet  and  honest 
earth,  is  worthy  any  gentleman.  If  there  be  any 
among  you  having  a  boy  or  girl,  halting  between  their 
school  books  and  a  wish  to  climb  the  Golden  Stair,  let 
him  consider  whether  it  be  better  to  have  hands 
browned  in  the  glorious  sunshine,  a  face  freckled  by 
the  blessed  winds,  clear  eyes  keen  for  out-of-door 
sights  and  pleasures,  a  little  dirt,  beads  of  salt  perspir- 
ation, perhaps  with  a  touch  of  the  backache,  a  jolly 
appetite  and  a  grand  power  of  sleep,  or  white  hands 
folded  under  a  coffin  lid. 

It  is  the  sum  of  these  things  that  moves  me  to  here 
set  forth  how  any  man,  woman  or  child  having  a  bit 
of  ground  may  use  it  for  their  best  health  and  the 
greater  gl;)ry  of  their  dinner  table  and  pocketbook. 


TIMES   AND    SEASONS. 


13 


CHAPTER     III. 


cimes  AHD  ^GAsons 


HE  moment  we  begin  to 
study  the  lives  of  plants 
we  are  brought  face  to 
face  with  the  universe.  We 
cannot  consider  the  very- 
small  without  considering 
the  infinitely  great.  The 
life  of  every  plant  in  our 
garden  hangs  on  the  laws 
governing  the  movements 
of  the  planets.  Every  mel- 
on vine  that  lifts  its  yellow  cups  in  the  warm  air  looks 
to  a  star  for  inspiration,  and  its  fruit  claims  acquaint- 
ance with  the  sun  by  the  blushes  in  its  melting  heart. 
The  roll  of  our  planet  to  the  east  divides  the  day  into 
light  and  darkness,  wherein  plants  grow  and  sleep, 
work  and  rest.  The  swinging  of  our  old  earth  around 
the  solar  spaces  divides  the  garden  into  a  time  for 
birth  and  a  time  for  death.  These  things  we  must 
understand  before  we  plant  a  single  seed. 

In  all  our  country  the  year  is  divided  into  two 
parts,  the  growing  season  and  the  season  of  slower 
growth  or  of  complete  rest.  On  the  twenty-first  of 
December  the  sun  casts  its  longest  shadows  at  noon. 
After  that  day  the  days  slowly  grow  longer  and  the 
nights  shorter  until  the  twenty-first  of  June.  Then 
the  shadows  are  shortened  at  noon,  the  days  at  their 
longest,  the  nights  very  short.  Soon  after  there  is, 
in   the  Northern  States,  a  perceptible  shortening  of 


14  MV   HANDKERCHIEF   GARDEN. 

the  day,  which  continues  till  the  longest  nights  late  in 
December  again. 

All  plants,  whether  out-of-doors  or  in  the  house, 
are  susceptible  to  these  universal  changes.  The  spring 
or  growing  season  begins  on  the  twenty-first  of  De- 
cember. The  winter  or  season  of  reduced  growth, 
maturity,  and  sleep  or  death  begins  on  the  twenty- 
first  of  June.  During  the  growing  season  the  amount 
of  light  steadily  increases  and  the  plant  thrives,  be- 
cause, as  it  grows,  it  demands  more  light.  When  it  is 
going  to  rest  or  approaching  maturity,  or  death,  it  re- 
quires less  and  less  light.  The  lives  of  all  plants  are, 
therefore,  dependent  on  the  changing  amount  of 
light  resulting  from  that  motion  of  the  earth  that 
gives  us  the  seasons. 

At  first  sight  it  may  seem  that  this  cannot  be  true. 
In  the  latitude  of  New  York  nothing  begins  to  grow 
out-of-doors  before  April,  and  all  the  garden  plants 
are  dead  or  asleep  long  before  December  begins. 
This,  too,  is  true,  yet  I  hope,  in  treating  of  certain 
of  our  common  vegetables,  to  show  you  a  number  of 
experiments  that  will  prove  that  this  division  of  the 
year  into  two  parts  is  correct.  In  California  the 
growing  season  begins  in  November  and  ends  in  May. 
This,  it  is  easily  seen,  is  merely  a  variation,  depend- 
ing on  local  causes,  of  this  same  law  of  plant  growth. 

To  get  the  best  results  from  our  garden  vegetables, 
we  sow  the  seed  in  the  growing  season  and  let  the 
crops  mature  in  the  resting  season,  and  this  holds 
good,  both  under  glass,  where,  as  far  as  temperature 
is  concerned,  we  are  independent  of  the  climate,  and 
in  Florida  where  there  are  no  frosts.  After  the  "  re- 
turn of  the  sun  "  we  can  sow  any  seeds,  provided  it  is 
warm  enough  either  naturally  or  in  a  greenhouse 
or  sunny  window.  The  days  are  growing  longer, 
there  is  more  and  more  light,  and  the  plant  finds  its 


TIMES    AND    SEASONS.  15 

growing  stature  met  by  increasing  light  and  (out- 
of-doo,rs)  increasing  heat.  Seeds  of  certain  plants 
can  indeed  be  sown  in  the  fall  or  under  glass  as  late 
as  December,  yet  they  are  struggling  against  the 
solar  tide  and  are  never  so  thrifty  as  when  the  "  young 
flood  "  of  the  year  sets  in.  Peas,  that  are  short-lived 
plants,  may  be  sown  out-of-doors  in  August,  and  will 
mature  a  crop  before  frost,  yet  they  do  not  display 
the  vigor  shown  by  plants  of  the  same  class  planted 
in  April  or  May. 

In  the  garden  and  out-of-doors  the  growing  season 
is,  of  course,  dependent  also  on  the  temperature.  The 
spring,  even  in  Vermont  or  Michigan,  begins  with  the 
turn  of  the  season,  yet  it  is  practically  delayed  out- 
of-doors  for  several  months,  or  till  the  increasing 
light  and  sunshine  raises  the  air  to  temperatures 
suitable  for  growing  plants.  In  like  manner  the  end 
of  the  growing  season  is  forstalled  by  the  return  of 
cold  weather  many  weeks  before  the  actual  end  of 
the  season  at  Christmas  week. 

The  first  thing  we  have  to  decide  is  this  : — Can 
we  take  advantage  of  the  actual  beginning  of  the 
growing  season  without  regard  to  the  beginning  of 
spring  out-of-doors  ?  If  we  can  do  so,  we  shall  find  a 
very  great  gain  in  the  matter  of  early  vegetables. 
Our  object  must  be  to  get  the  greatest  possible  result 
from  our  garden,  and  to  do  this  we  must  begin  the 
spring  work  as  soon  as  the  season  really  opens.  For 
instance,  the  tomato  is  a  native  of  a  tropical  climate, 
where  the  warm  weather  begins  early  and  ends  late. 
In  the  latitude  of  New  York  the  season  out-of-doors 
is  not  long  enough  to  bring  its  crop  to  maturity. 
We,  therefore,  gain  time  by  starting  seeds  in  the 
house  soon  after  the  season  turns.  The  plant  being 
sheltered  from  the  cold  and  finding  the  spring  really 
at   hand,  grows  rapidly,   and  by   the   time   the   warm 


16  MV   HANDKERCHIEF   GARDEN, 

weather  has  arrived  out-of-doors,  is  several  inches 
high  and  well  advanced  in  its  natural  life.  In  May 
we  remove  it  from  the  house  to  the  garden,  and  it 
thus  reaches  its  full  maturity  even  in  our  short  out- 
of-door  season.  Cultivated  in  this  way  it  produces 
its  crop  in  August  and  September,  whereas,  if  its  seed 
were  planted  out-of-doors,  it  would  be  cut  down  by 
October  frosts  with  only  half  a  crop  on  its  branches. 
It  might  be  thought  that  the  seed  could  be  sown  in 
the  house  in  November  and  the  crop  thus  be  made  to 
mature  in  June.  This  would  not  work,  for  until  the 
spring  really  begins,  it  is  nearly  useless  to  attempt  to 
sow  seeds  in  even  the  warmest  house.  The  young 
plants  would  be  struggling  against  the  solar  tide  and 
wasting  their  lives  for  nothing. 

These  facts  in  regard  to  the  divisions  of  the  grow- 
ing year  point  to  the  first  lesson  in  all  horticultural 
work.  Whatever  we  do,  much  or  little,  whether  our 
garden  be  large  or  small,  we  must  be  forehanded. 
We  must  always  look  six  months  ahead,  always  lay 
out  our  workweeks  in  advance.  If  we  wish  tomatoes 
in  August,  we  must  plant  the  seed  in  March,  and  this 
means  soil  to  put  the  seeds  in,  and  to  have  good  soil 
in  March  we  must  piiepare  it  in  November.  Fore- 
thought and  forework  are  essential  to  success  in 
home  gardening. 

To  show  what  is  meant  by  planning  the  work  in 
advance,  I  may  from  my  journal  give  a  few  notes  as 
to  what  was  actually  done  to  prepare  for  the  season 
of  1888.  By  the  first  of  November  the  last  of  the 
celery  in  the  garden  had  been  taken  up,  and  the 
ground  was  left  clear  of  all  perishable  crops.  At  odd 
moments  the  soil  was  spaded  up  and  left  rough,  thus 
exposing  it  to  the  frost  and  rain  to  kill  the  eggs  of 
insects  and  the  seeds  of  weeds,  and  by  December  the 
out-of-door  work  was  fairlv   over.     The   five   straw- 


TIMES    AND    SEASONS.  17 

berry  plants  had  increased  to  over  sixty,  set  out  in 
rows  about  a  foot  apart  each  way.  The  garden  was 
so  exceedingly  small  that  it  was  necessary  to  crowd 
them  together  to  gain  room,  the  intention  being  the 
next  year  to  allow  no  runners  to  grow.  On  the 
twenty-first  of  November  the  ground  was  frozen  hard 
and  the  strawberries  were  covered  with  dead  leaves. 
Over  this  was  laid  some  boughs  and  sticks  to  keep 
the  wind  from  blowing  the  leaves  away.  A  friend 
had  given  me  in  October  a  hundred  currant  cuttings, 
half  Red  Dutch  and  half  White  Dutch.  These  had 
been  carefully  set  out  in  a  bed  by  themselves,  and 
were  covered  with  leaves  and  brush  about  the  twen- 
tieth of  November.  A  few  dozen  grape  cuttings,  also 
a  gift,  were  placed  in  a  wooden  box  and  buried  two 
feet  deep  in  the  ground.  Meantime  I  had  sifted  two 
barrels  of  good  soil,  mixing  it  with  bone-meal,  wood- 
ashes  and  guano,  and  stored  it  in  the  cellar.  Then 
the  snow  came  and  the  season  was  at  an  end. 


18 


MV   HANDKERCHIEF    GARDEN. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


PLAn$   FOK  moRK. 


T  is  curious  to  note  how  quickly, 
after  the  season  turns,  there  are 
visible  signs  of  spring.  No  mat- 
ter if  the  snow  does  fly  in  the 
north.  Far  down  in  the  south  the 
spring  has  landed  on  our  coasts. 
The  wave  of  green  grass  will  cover 
the  land,  creeping  up  the  Missis- 
sippi Valley,  and  stealing  along  the  Atlantic  Coast 
The  snow  that  covers  the  northern  half  of  the  coun- 
try will  retire  slowly,  sometimes  pausing,  sometimes 
advancing  far  down  south,  only  to  retreat  farther 
than  before.  The  buds  soon  begin  to  swell  along  the 
Gulf,  and  hints  of  spring  are  in  the  air.  In  the  north 
we  can  only  watch  the  slowly  lengthening  twilight 
over  the  snow-clad  hills.  By  the  tenth  of  January 
there  is  a  perceptible  lingering  in  the  sunset  colors, 
and,  if  we  mark  the  spot  where  the  sun  goes  down, 
we  see  he  is  already  well  started  to  the  left,  or  south. 
My  home  is  in  the  neighborhood  of  New  York 
City,  and  these  notes  from  the  journal  of  my  hand- 
kerchief garden  refer  to  the  out-of-door  seasons 
there.  If  you  live  south  of  Washington  or  Cincin- 
nati, the  work  would  come  about  ten  days  earlier. 
If  farther  south,  still  earlier.  The  best  plan  is  to 
observe  nature  yourself.  If  the  spring  begins  in  your 
neighborhood  in  March,  then  you  must  be  getting 
ready  in  January.  The  out-door  season  here  begins 
in  April,  so  my  work  begins  in  February. 

First  of  all — books.     There  is  no  greater  pleasure 


PLANS    FOR     WORK.  19 

in  midwinter  than  to  think  over  and  plan  for  next 
summer,  Nothing  better  for  guide  and  companion 
on  long  winter  evenings  than  a  good  book.  Buy  if 
you  can,  borrow  if  you  must.  Next  to  a  good  book, 
and,  in  some  respects,  better,  is  a  good  horticultural 
paper,  and  The  American  Garden  is  one  of  the  best. 
If  nothing  better  can  be  afforded,  get  the  seedsmen's 
catalogues.  Some  of  these  can  be  obtained  on  appli- 
cation, others  cost  from  ten  to  twenty-five  cents,  and 
are  worth  the  money.  Some  of  them  are  positively 
delightful.  The  descriptions  of  the  seeds  are  so  ap- 
petizing, and  the  pictures  so  inspiring,  that  we  long 
for  summer  to  come  that  we  may  enjoy  these  entic- 
ing heads  of  lettuce,  these  phenomenal  beans,  and 
gaze  in  awe  upon  our  own  monster  squashes.  The 
wise  home-gardener  will,  of  course,  read  the  seeds- 
man's catalogue  with  a  dignified  reserve  in  regard  to 
some  of  the  more  bewildering  pictures  and  their 
legends,  yet  he  will  read  to  learn,  for  nearly  all  these 
books  are  well  worthy  careful  study,  for  the  fund  of 
valuable  information  they  contain.  At  the  same  time, 
don't  read  less  than  three,  each  from  a  different  city. 
Philadelphia,  Boston,  and  New  York,  for  instance,  and 
read  to  compare  opinions  on  the  various  standard 
sorts  of  vegetables. 

Of  books,  I  would  recommend  the  following:  The 
*'  Home  Acre,"  a  series  of  eight  articles,  by  the  late 
E.  P.  Roe,  and  published  in  Harper's  Magazine,  be- 
ginning in  March,  1886.  As  a  handkerchief  garden 
should  include  some  fruit,  "  Success  with  Small 
Fruits,"  by  the  same  author,  should  be  procured.  It 
is  a  fine  book,  and  beautifully  illustrated  ;  price,  $2.50. 
"  Harris'  Gardening  for  Young  and  Old  "  is  a  good 
book  for  general  purposes  ;  price,  $1.25.  Bailey's  new 
"  Horticulturists'  Rule  Book  "  is  full  of  valuable  rules, 
recipes,  methods,  etc.,  for  gardening  folk;  price,  fi.oo. 


20  MV    HANDKERCHIEF   GARDEN, 

Henderson's  books  are  all  first-rate,  "Gardening  for 
Pleasure,"  for  your  purposes,  being  perhaps  the  best. 
"  Gardening  for  Profit  "  is  also  very  good,  though  de- 
signed more  for  market  gardeners  than  for  handker- 
chief gardening.  If  possible,  I  would  also  have  Mrs. 
Treat's  "Injurious  Insects  of  the  Farm  and  Garden." 
It's  a  handy  book  to  have  in  the  house,  in  case 
of  war  within  your  borders.  These  books,  and  all 
others  on  gardening  and  rural  life,  may  be  pur- 
chased of  the  Garden  Publishing  Company,  New 
York.  Reading,  selecting  varieties  to  plant,  and 
planning  out  the  work,  may  well  fill  the  first  six 
weeks  of  the  year.  By  all  means  make  a  map  or  plan 
of  your  grounds,  drawn  to  scale,  so  that  you  can  see 
exactly  what  can  be  done.  I  did  this  in  January,  and 
laid  out  on  paper  every  row  of  plants  I  wanted,  be- 
fore ordering  the  seeds.  Afterwards  the  plan  was  of 
great  value  as  a  guide  in  using  all  my  garden  space 
to  the  utmost  economy.  It  was  also  useful  in  econo- 
mizing seeds,  and  in  serving  as  a  guide  as  to  the 
quantities  of  each  kind  to  be  bought.  It  is  also  a 
good  idea  to  preserve  these  plans  to  compare  with 
the  actual  results  when  the  crops  are  gathered.  We 
are  almost  certain  to  plant  too  much  of  some  things, 
and  the  plan  will  be  a  guide  in  next  year's  purchase 
of  seeds. 

There  is  also  another  advantage  in  making  a  plan 
of  the  future  plantings.  To  get  the  greatest  possible 
return  out  of  the  soil  we  must  produce  two  crops  each 
year,  or  three  crops  in  two  years.  Suppose  your 
garden  is  the  usual  city  back  yard,  25  feet  wide  and 
60  feet  long.  Out  of  this  bit  of  ground  you  must 
wring  in  one  season  all  it  is  capable  of  producing. 
The  ground  must  be  stuffed  with  plants — not  a  foot, 
not  an  inch  being  wasted.  If  lettuce  plants  will  ma- 
ture when   planted    12    inches   apart,  radish   or   some 


PLANS    FOR     WORK. 


21 


short  lived 
plant  must 
grow  between. 
If  a  cucumber 
vine  covers  6 
inches  at  one 
time  and  6 
feet  at  another 
time,  spinach 
must  occupy 
the  space  not 
used  by  the 
vine  while  it  is 
small.  If  the 
early  pea  vines 
bear  fruit  in 
July,  then 
white  turnips 
must  mature 
in  the  same 
ground  in  Oc- 
tober. Like  a 
circular  race 
track,  a  gar- 
den to  pay 
must  consist 
of  a  series  of 
"laps,"  one 
crop  overlap- 
ping another 
and  the  soil 
bearing  two 
crops  between 
frost  and  frost. 
To  make  this 
clear    the    ac- 


I 


IIL 


XT 


^Uii^d^^^ 


V-J 
11X11 


//X7 


21X 


J  6  Aau/^ 


23  MV   HANDKERCHIEF   GARDEN. 

companying  diagram  shows  how  the  first  lap  is 
made.  The  entire  space,  25x60,  is  laid  out  in  three 
beds,  with  two  footpaths,  12  inches  wide,  between 
them  (and  a  good  plan  is  to  make  these  paths  of 
plank).  One  bed,  11  feet  wide  in  the  centre,  and 
two  of  6  feet  on  each  side,  enables  you  to  reach 
every  plant  with  a  hoe  from  the  paths.  On  the  plan 
these  three  beds  are  divided  off  into  smaller  beds, 
each  for  one  or  more  crops.  Beginning  at  the  upper 
left  hand  (northwest)  corner,  the  first  bed  is  to  con- 
tain six  rows  of  the  first  planting  of  bush  beans. 
(The  area  of  each  bed  is  marked  in  the  beds.)  Next, 
south  of  these,  are  eight  rows  of  early  beets;  next 
come  five  rows  of  early  carrots.  These  three  beds 
are  planted  as  early  as  the  weather  permits.  The 
next  bed.  No.  IV.,  is  left  empty  till  ten  days  after  the 
first  sowing  of  beans,  and  makes  the  second  planting 
of  beans.  No.  V.  is  planted  thickly  with  spinach,  in 
rows  I  foot  apart.  As  soon  as  the  plants  are  three 
inches  high  pull  half  of  them  out  and  send  them  to 
the  cook.  The  little,  half-grown  plants  make  an 
excellent  dish,  and  the  plants  left  behind  have  more 
room. 

I  tried  this  plan  last  year,  sowing  spinach  very  thick 
and  making  the  first  thinning  when  the  plants  were 
very  small.  It  took  500  plants  to  make  a  dishful,  but 
they  were  delicious.  Two  thinnings  and  one  final 
picking  of  the  half  mature  gave  a  very  large  return 
in  a  very  few  weeks  from  a  small  space. 

Bed  No.  VI.  is  to  have  four  rows  (north  and  south) 
of  cabbages,  the  first  row  i  foot  from  the  path,  the 
next  two  3  feet  apart  and  the  last  within  i  foot  of  the 
other  path.  Between  each  row  is  a  single  row  of  let- 
tuce plants,  and  between  lettuce  and  cabbages  can  be 
planted  six  rows  of  radish  or  spinach.  Don't  be 
afraid  ;  you   cannot  have   too   much.     Pull   it  up   as 


PLANS    FOR     WORK. 


28 


soon  as  it 
crowds  the  let- 
tuce, and  pull 
up  the  lettuce 
as  soon  as  it 
crowds  the 
cabbage.  In 
both  cases  the 
crops  will  be 
ready  for  the 
table.  Bed  No. 
\I\\.  is  arrang- 
ed in  the  same 
way,  except 
that  cauliflow- 
ers stand  be- 
tween the  rad- 
ish and  let- 
tuce. BedVIII. 
is  to  contain 
six  hills,  first 
planting  of  cu- 
cumbers, and 
the  whole 
space  is  filled 
up,exceptnear 
the  young  cu- 
cumberplants, 
with  spinach 
and  radish. 
Bed  IX.  is  the 
same  idea  ap- 
plied to  late 
cucumbers.  If 
it  is  prefer- 
red, summer 
squash  can  be 


~w    w    w. 


M 


Ml 


JZT 


V 


i- 


^p/di^ 


0^ 


"YX 

lltll 


Wj,    I^        W^ 


XI 


34  MY    HANDKERCHIEF    GARDEN. 

used  in  the  same  way  in  place  of  the  cucumbers.  Bed 
No.  X.  is  for  potatoes  that  have  been  forced  in  the 
house.  Bed  No.  XI.  is  for  the  first  planting  of  peas, 
ten  rows.  No.  XII.  may  be  used  for  onion  sets,  six 
rows,  and  No.  XIII.  will  carry  early  turnips,  six  rows. 
Bed  No.  XIV.  is  to  be  kept  about  ten  days^  for  the 
second  planting  of  peas.  The  little  square  at  the 
north  end  of  the  plot  is  a  seed  bed  for  celery. 

In  sketching  out  in  winter  such  a  plan  of  work  for 
the  summer,  you  must  look  beyond  the  early  spring 
and  arrange  for  the  crops  that  are  to  follow  the  early 
spring  plants.  With  this  is  a  plan  of  the  same  garden, 
showing  what  should  follow  in  the  various  beds. 

For  instance,  bed  No.  I.  may  be  followed  by  late 
sweet  corn  as  soon  as  the  peas  are  gathered.  Bed 
No.  II.,  in  like  manner,  may  be  used  for  the  second 
planting  of  sweet  corn,  the  beets  to  be  consumed  as 
soon  as  half  grown.  The  little  bed  of  celery  plants 
is  to  be  cleared  out  before  the  tomatoes  begin  to 
crowd  them,  and  the  young  plants  moved  to  beds  III. 
and  IV.  The  tomato  plants  are  shown  in  a  row  at 
the  upper  end  of  the  lot.  There  will  be  ample  room 
to  get  them  in  there,  and  if  not,  you  can  well  afford 
to  sacrifice  a  plant  or  two  of  the  first  crops  in  beds 
Nos.  I.,  VI.  and  XI.  All  the  beds  are  plainly  marked 
with  the  second  crops,  and  you  will  find  it  well  worth 
while  to  compare  the  two  plans,  as  they  show  how 
crops  may  be  made  to  "  lap  "  and  how  to  get  the 
greatest  possible  return  from  the  ground. 

My  own  garden  was  of  a  somewhat  different  shape, 
yet  I  made  careful  sketches  of  the  proposed  crops, 
and  in  the  summer  of  1888  actually  carried  out,  with 
some  varieties,  the  succession  of  crops  shown  on  these 
two  diagrams. 


STARTING    THE    GARDEN   IN    THE    HOUSE.      25 


CHAPTER   V. 


STARTinG  T6G  GARDGH  ID  TBG  f)Ca?G 


O  get  the  greatest  possible  return 
out  of  a  handkerchief  garden,  we 
must  forestall  the  growing  season, 
is  the  early  potato  that  costs.  We  must 
gather  our  crops  when  they  are  high- 
priced  in  the  stores,  and  thus  credit  the  garden 
on  a  "bull  market."  It  is  better  to  stop  buy- 
ing lettuce  when  it  is  seven  cents  a  head  than  have 
to  wait  till  it  is  down  to  three  cents.  The  market 
gardener's  chief  profit  isalways  in  these  forwarded  and 
high-priced  crops,  and  we  must  be  equally  sharp  after 
every  early  penny  that  grows  in  the  garden.  It  is  often 
thought  that  only  those  who  have  green-houses  and 
hot-beds  can  thus  hasten  their  early  crop.  Glass  is 
always  a  great  help,  and  it  pays  to  use  it,  yet  for  a 
small  home  garden  it  is  not  necessary.  Every  house 
has  one  or  more  sunny  windows,  and  these  make  the 
advanced  garden  where  the  early  crops  may  be  started. 
Can't  have  troublesome  plants  making  a  slop  and 
dirt  in  your  parlor  ? 

Not  the  slightest  need  of  it — if  you  know  how 
Besides,  a  neat  box  filled  with  young  cauliflower 
plants  is  rather  pretty  and  suggests  the  spring,  long 
before  the  snow  has  gone.  Even  a  box  of  young 
potato  plants,  thrusting  up  green  fingers  towards  the 
light,  may  be  quite  a  picture.  Visitors  will  be  sure 
to  look  at  the  cheery  bit  of  greenery  and  ask  in  all 
innocence  the  name  of  the  odd  looking  plants. 
Spoil  your  carpet  and  fade  your  curtains  ? 


26  MV   HANDKERCHIEF   GARDEN. 

Spoil  your  children  too  ?  What's  the  use  of  carpets, 
if  the  grand  sunshine  full  of  health  and  cheerfulness 
is  to  be  shut  out  ?  Better  burn  your  old  carpets  and 
let  the  sunlight  fall  on  bare  floors.  Better  a  row  of 
plants  in  your  parlor  window,  and  delicious  summer 
cabbages  in  July,  than  a  best  room  shut  up  dark  while 
the  pale-faced  children  mope  in  your  stuffy  north 
kitchen.  These  things  are  not  for  fun.  Its  simply 
good  business  to  hasten  the  handkerchief  harvest  and 
thus  reap  the  big  profits.  Besides  this,  you  have  been 
carrying  the  children  for  weeks  on  canned  goods.  A 
taste  of  the  first  salad  from  the  garden  will  save  the 
doctor's  bill  and  tone  up  every  little  stomach  in  the 
most  encouraging  way. 

Our  house  faced  south-east,  and  this  gave  us  four 
sunny  windows  down-stairs,  two  facing  south-east  and 
two  south-west,  in  rooms  warmed  by  a  furnace.  There 
was  also  one  sunny  window  up-stairs,  in  a  room  part- 
ly warmed  by  a  chimney,  and  the  spare  heat  from  the 
hall.  In  the  two  kitchen  windows  shelves  were  put 
up,  and  in  the  parlor  and  dining-room  small  narrow 
tables  covered  with  cretonne  were  used.  A  good  idea 
in  putting  up  shelves  for  plants  in  the  lower  part  of 
a  window  is  to  have  a  piece  of  shelving  made  to  fit  the 
window  and  about  eight  inches  wide.  On  the  edge  of 
the  window  seat  screw  two  small  brass  hooks.  Op- 
posite these,  on  the  upper  side  of  the  shelf,  fix  two 
screw-eyes.  On  the  under  side  of  the  shelf  in  the 
middle  fasten  a  single  iron  bracket.  To  fix  such 
a  shelf  in  place,  put  the  screw-eyes  over  the  hooks 
and  the  bracket  prevents  it  from  falling.  Such  a 
device  saves  all  nailing  into  the  wood-work  and  the 
shelf  can  be  unhooked  and  removed  at  any  time  in  a 
moment,  in  case  the  maid  wants  to  wash  the  windows. 
I  first  saw  this  little  notion  carried  out  by  my  friend 
and  neighbor,  Bronson  Howard,  who  is  as  clever  with 


STARTING     THE    GARDEN   IN    THE    HOUSE.      27 


tools  as  with  the  pen.  Two  shelves  are  enough  in 
eachwindow,  and  I  found  a  lath,  covered  with  cretonne, 
as  a  concession  to  the  aesthetic,  and  nailed  across  the 
window  frame,  on  a  level  with  the  top  of  the  lower 
sash,  made  a  good  support  for  light  window  boxes. 

Flower  pots  will  be  needed  for  the  windows,  and  it 
is  well  to  have  a  few  of  different  sizes  for  some  of 
your  work.  It  is,  however,  very  much  cheaper  to  use 
wooden  boxes.  In  my  own  experience  I  found  there 
is  nothing  better  than  a  bundle  of  laths.  It  cost  de- 
livered only  30  cents,  and  out  of  it  I  made  dozens  of 
plant  and  seed  boxes  of  all  shapes  and  sizes. 

The  accompanying  sketch  shows  one  of  my  window 
boxes.     It  was  made  by  cutting  ten  laths  into  lengths 


of  2  feet  10  inches,  and  nailing  them  together  in  two 
sets  of  three  each  (placed  side  by  side)  and  one  of 
four  laths.  They  are  fastened  by  the  short  crossbars 
and  then  the  three  sets  are  nailed  together  and  the 
ends  filled  up  and  all  made  secure  with  small  wire 
nails.  To  prevent  splitting  I  keep  the  laths  in  a 
damp  place  till  ready  to  be  used.  Such  boxes  are  of 
a  convenient  length  for  the  window  and  will  just  fit 
into  a  cold  frame  measuring  3x6  feet.  For  small 
seedlings  I  made  boxes  four  laths  wide  and  two  laths 
high,  and  as  long  as  the  window  sash,  so  that  they 
would  rest  on  the  bar  in  the  middle  of  the  window 
and  the  top  of  the  sash.  If  you  wished,  the  side 
next  the  room  could  be  covered  with  cretonne  or 
painted   some   dark   color,   and   then    filled   with   the 


38  MY   HANDKERCHIEF   GARDEN. 

pale  green  of  young  lettuce  plants,  they  would  look 
well  in  the  best  room  of  any  home. 

From  my  experience  with  such  window  boxes,  six 
boxes,  occupying  three  sunny  windows,  would  be 
sufficient  to  supply  all  the  early  cauliflower,  cabbage, 
lettuce  and  tomato  plants  needed  in  a  home  garden 
intended  to  supply  a  family  of  three  adults  and  two 
children.  Supplemented  with  cold  frames,  covered 
with  either  glass  or  protective  cloth,  they  would  easily 
carry  one  thousand  plants,  or  more  than  enough  for 
a  dozen  handkerchief  gardens.  My  experience  is 
that,  even  without  frames,  all  the  plants  you  need  for 
your  home  garden  can  be  raised  in  your  windows 
without  a  single  cent's  extra  cost  in  the  way  of  fuel. 
Your  home  must  be  warmed  in  any  event,  and  the 
same  heat  will  bring  on  a  crop  of  young  plants  with 
only  the  cost  of  the*  seeds,  the  boxes,  and  a  little 
rather  entertaining  work  at  odd  moments  for  about 
six  weeks  in  the  early  spring. 

My  journal  of  work  records  that  Early  Jersey  Wake- 
field cabbage  and  Extra  Early  Erfurt  cauliflower  seeds 
were  planted  in  boxes  on  February  22d,  and  the 
Early  Snowball  cauliflower  planted  March  9th.  The 
first  lot  of  plants  were  transplanted  into  other  boxes 
by  the  middle  of  March,  and  were  removed  to  the 
cold  frame  early  in  April,  and  were  set  in  the  open 
ground  April  27th.  The  second  plantings  came  a 
little  later,  and  the  first  cauliflowers  were  placed  on 
the  table  on  July  4th,  while  the  last  were  eaten  on 
July  22d.  The  first  cabbages  were  cut  on  July  15th, 
and  they  lasted  well  into  August.  To  those  who  have 
never  tried  it,  early  summer  cabbage,  just  beginning 
to  head  and  fresh  from  the  garden,  will  prove  a  new 
dish.  You  may  have  eaten  something  so-called  and 
thought  it  very  good.  You  haven't  really  been  there, 
unless  you  have  a  garden  of  your  own. 


STARTING     THE    GARDEN   IN    THE    HOUSE.      29 

On  February  28th  I  cut  up  a  few  choice  po- 
tatoes and  placed  the  pieces  in  soil  in  a  window-box 
by  a  south-east  window  in  a  room  up-stairs  where 
there  was  no  fire.  On  very  cold  nights  the  box  was 
placed  on  the  floor  near  the  chimney  and  covered 
with  a  newspaper.  On  April  i6th  the  plants,  now  six 
inches  high,  were  transplanted  to  a  sunny  corner  in 
the  garden,  and  the  first  potatoes  were  sent  to  the 
table  on  June  27th. 

Lettuce  was  planted  on  March  7th,  and  set  out  in 
the  garden  on  April  3rd,  and  the  first  heads  eaten 
June  nth.  Tomatoes  with  me  were  a  failure,  owing 
to  damping  off  at  the  time  of  the  blizzard  in  March. 
Still,  plants  from  seed  planted  March  8th  made  good 
plants,  and  would  have  been  set  out  in  the  garden  in 
May,  had  it  not  been  for  an  accidental  upsetting  of 
the  box  that  compelled  me  to  buy  plants  of  the  near- 
est florist.  I  did  enough,  however,  to  prove  that 
tomato  plants  can  be  raised  in  the  house  without  the 
slightest  trouble.  Among  other  things,  I  found  that 
peas  can  be  forced  in  the  house  by  sowing  in  boxes 
the  last  week  in  February,  and  transplanting  to  the 
ground  when  about  four  inches  high.  The  crop 
from  these  transplanted  peas  came  in  about  three 
days  before  peas  planted  in  the  ground,  as  early  as 
the  weather  permitted.  The  gain  was  slight,  yet  in  a 
favorable  season  I  think  it  would  be  even  better  and 
would  pay  to  do,  if  you  want  extra  early  peas.  The 
plants  were  set  out  quickly  and  with  no  particular 
pains,  and  not  one  died. 

Not  having  any  material  for  a  hot-bed  or  even 
glass  for  a  cold-frame,  I  made  a  frame  on  the  south 
side  of  the  house  protected  from  the  north-winds,  and 
for  sash  used  frames  made  of  two  old  screen  doors, 
covered  with  a  heavy  grade  of  protective  cloth. 
Under   this    frame    I    forwarded    potatoes,   cabbage, 


30  MV   HANDKERCHIEF   GARDEN. 

cauliflower,  tomato  and  lettuce  plants,  that  were 
afterwards  transferred  to  the  garden.  The  frame 
measured  about  2  feet  8  inches  wide  and  about  18 
feet  long,  and  held  many  hundred  plants,  in  fact  far 
more  than  the  garden  would  contain,  and  two-thirds 
of  them  were  given  away  or  sold  to  the  neighbors. 
On  very  cold  nights  the  frame  was  covered  with  old 
gunny  bags  as  an  extra  protection,  and  on  all  sunny 
days  the  frame  was  left  uncovered,  except  in  high, 
dry  winds.  While  not  as  good  as  glass  for  some  pur- 
poses, this  protective  cloth  answers  very  well  for 
forwarding  early  plants.  Cabbage,  cauliflower,  pota- 
toes, peas  and  lettuce  under  it  did  very  well.  Toma- 
toes not  quite  as  well,  and  another  year  I  would  keep 
tomato  plants  in  the  window  or  under  glass  sash. 
The  frame  cost  for  lumber  50  cents  and  for  the  cloth 
$2.16  =-  $2.66. 

Another  advantage  of  such  a  frame  is  the  protec- 
tion it  affords  to  young  squash,  melon  or  cucumber 
vines.  Seeds  of  squash  planted  in  the  frame  came 
up  among  the  other  plants,  and  as  soon  as  they 
needed  more  room,  the  nearest  plants  were  removed, 
and  finally  the  frame  was  wholly  taken  away  and  the 
vines  spread  naturally  over  the  ground. 

These  things  were  easily  carried  on  at  odd  moments 
through  February  and  March,  and  in  April  the  reg- 
ular out-of-door  work  began.  By  May  7th  the  fram" 
had  been  taken  away,  and  its  contents  had  been 
transferred  to  the  garden.  None  of  the  work  in  the 
house  or  about  the  frames  took  more  than  an  hour 
or  two  at  any  one  time,  and  usually  the  time  spent 
over  the  work  did  not  exceed  fifteen  minutes  twice 
each  day,  say  once  early  in  the  morning  and  once 
towards  night.  Often  it  was  very  much  less.  None 
of  the  work  required  much   strength  or  skill — onl^  % 


STARTING     THE    GARDEA^    IN    THE    HOUSE.      31 

little  patience  and  the  right  hand's  turn  of  work  at 
the  right  moment. 

Among  other  notions  for  forwarding  early  plants 
is  a  plant-hood  or  folding-tent  to  put  over  small 
plants.  The  device  received  the  name  of  The  Ameri- 
can Garden  Cosey,  and  as  it  may  also  prove  useful  to 
others,  a  few  directions  for  making  one  or  more  may 
be  given. 

The  materials  of  the  cosey  are  protective  cloth, 
common  laths  or  other  light  wooden  sticks,  and  com- 
mon carpet  tacks  and  any  stout  twine  or  small  cord. 
The  first  one  made  by  the  inventor  was  made  out  of 
four  laths  and  67  inches  of  a  heavy  grade  of  the  cloth. 
Spread  open  on  the  ground  to  cover  plants  it  pro- 
tected a  space  4  feet  long  and  14  inches  wide,  giving 
ample  room  for  a  mature  lettuce  plant  or  strawberry 
plant  in  bearing,  or  any  young  plant  not  over  18 
inches  high.  When  shut  up  it  could  be  put  in  a  space 
4  feet  long,  18  inches  high  and  i  y^  inches  wide.  A 
dozen  would  be  a  light  load  for  one  hand. 

To  make  a  single  cosey  for  protecting  a  few  plants, 
cut  a  piece  19  inches  long 
and  from  this  cut  two  tri- 
angular pieces,  each  17 
inches  wide  at  the  bottom. 
There  will  also  be  material 
for  one  more  in  case  another 
cosey  is  made.  The  dotted  lines  in  Figure  i  show 
how  the  cloth  is  cut,  the  fabric  being  36  inches  wide. 

These  two  pieces  will  make  the  end  pieces.  To 
make  the  cover,  cut  a  piece  of  the  cloth  i  '/g  yards 
long.  For  the  frame,  use  four  good  straight  laths. 
Place  them  in  pairs  and  join  each  set  with  a  crossbar 
at  the  end,  18  inches  long.  Nail  firmly  at  the  corners 
and  put  in  a  short  brace  at  two  corners  to  keep  the 
frame  in  shape.     Figure  2  shows  one  of  these  frames. 


■■■■  A^— - 

I  \ 

'  'V-       ',\ 

/  \ 

r 

\ 
\ 

aV*J 

i 

"f/ 

\     '^^ 
\ 

/ 

n-  . 

\/   ,^ 

\ 

83  MY   HANDKERCHIEF   GARDEN. 

Place  the  cloth  on  a  table  and  then  lay  the  two 
frames,  with  the  crossbars  together,  one  over  the 
other  on  the  cloth  near  one  edge  of  the  cloth.  Then 
fold  the  cloth  over  the  two  frames  and  tack  the  edge 
to  the  lower  edge,  leaving  about  half  an  inch  of  the 
wood  exposed.  This  is  to  prevent  the  cloth  from 
touching  the  ground.  Leave  the  ends  (for  a  couple 
of  inches)   free   till   after   the   end   pieces  are  put  in. 

This  done,  turn  the 
two  frames  over, 
stretch  the  cloth 
tight  and  nail  it  to 
lower  edge  of  the 
other  frame  as  be- 
fore. Then  tack  the  cloth  to  the  upper  bar  of  each 
frame,  placing  the  tacks  on  the  wide  part  of  the  bar. 
Lastly,  put  in  the  two  end  pieces,  lapping  them  over 
the  frames  and  leaving  a  loose  flap  2  inches  wide  at 
the  bottom.  When  the  ends  are  tacked  on,  finish  the 
cover  by  drawing  the  ends  over  the  edges  of  the  end 
pieces  to  make  a  neat  join  and  tack  the  ends  down. 

When  finished  the  cosey  can  be  opened  and  will 
stand  alone,  making  a  rain-tight  hood  4  feet  long  and 
14  inches  wide.  It  can  then  be  placed  over  plants, 
gently  pressed  into  the  soil  to  fit  tight  round  the 
sides,  aad  a  little  soil  can  be  thrown  on  the  flaps  at 
the  end  to  exclude  the  air.  This  is  a  single  cosey  for 
a  few  plants.  To  cover  more,  say  a  space  8  feet  long, 
make  two  coseys  and  close  up  only  one  end  of  each 
and  then  place  them  end  to  end,  the  two  open  ends 
meeting  and  thus  making  a  continuous  hood  of  the 
two  coseys.  To  cover  the  crack  between  the  two 
coseys,  let  the  cover  of  one  extend  2  inches  beyond 
the  open  end.  Set  the  first  cosey  in  place  over  the 
plants  first,  then  place  the  other  in  position,  letting 
the  flap  cover  the  crack  all  round.     In  this  manner  a 


STARTING     THE    GARDEN   IN    THE    HOUSE.      33 

long  line  of  coseys  can  be  used,  each  one  having  a 
flap  to  fit  over  the  next  with  only  the  two  end  ones 
having  the  end  pieces.  Where  the  ends  are  left  open 
in  this  way  a  stout  string  must  be  secured  across  the 
ends  to  keep  the  frames  from  spreading,  in  fact,  act- 
ing as  a  tie-rod  to  hold  up  the  roof.  Figure  3  shows 
two  coseys  placed  together. 

The  cosey  is  one  of  those  little  notions  that  often 
prove  of  great  value  in  many  ways.  It  can  be  used 
to  forward  early  crops  in  the  spring  and  to  protect 
late  crops  in  the  fail.     It  is  wide  enough  to  cover  two 


rows  of  early  beets,  carrots  or  radish,  or  to  protect  a 
row  of  strawberry  plants  from  the  birds  or  to  keep 
insects  away  from  young  melon  vines.  Such  protect- 
ing hoods  could,  of  course,  be  made  of  other  shapes 
and  sizes,  but  this  size  uses  the  cloth  without  waste, 
and  the  hood  is  easily  picked  up,  carried  away  and 
packed  snugly  in  the  barn  when  not  in  use.  The 
C/oth  will  shed  any  rainstorm  and  will  not  mildew  or 
decay  in  wet  weather.  It  is  also  a  protection  against 
frost  and  is  better  than  glass  and  only  one-tenth  its 
cost.  Such  a  cosey,  or  even  a  long  line  of  them,  can 
be  easily  ventilated  in  bright  sunshine  by  putting  a 
block  of  wood  or  a  stone  under  the  edge,  or,  where 
two  or  more  are  used,  by  pulling  them  apart  and 
leaving  a  small  space  between  them  through  which 
the  hot  air  can  escape. 

The  "  protective  cloth,"  above  mentioned,   is   made 
especially  for  such  purposes,  and  is  sold  by  seedsmen. 


34  MV   HANDKERCHIEF   GARDEN. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
(fLCSG    (fROPPIDG. 

COMMON  objection  raised  to  a 
home  garden  is  the  expense  and 
labor  in  planting  and  caring  for  it. 
My  little  patch,  which  measured 
a  trifle  over  one-thirtieth  of  an 
acre,  was  a  tough,  hard  clay,  and 
yet,  in  addition  to  one  man's  labor 
for  one  day,  it  required  only  nineteen  half  days'  work 
in  April  and  ten  half  days  in  May.  This  included  the 
preparation  of  the  ground  and  planting  all  the  early 
crops.  In  no  instance  was  a  whole  day's  work  given 
to  the  place,  and  the  time  spent  was  usually  from 
four  to  six  in  the  afternoon.  I  think  the  entire  work 
could  easily  have  been  done  in  ten  working  days. 
The  entire  outlay,  aside  from  my  own  labor,  includ- 
ing new  tools,  seeds,  lumber,  cloth  and  fertilizer  was 
$14.79.  The  heaviest  expense  was  for  200  pounds 
Mapes'  fertilizer,  $5.05  (delivered),  and  this  was 
enough  for  the  entire  season,  no  other  manure  of 
any  kind  being  used.  Fourteen  dollars  and  seventy- 
nine  cents  would  buy  quite  an  assortment  of  vegeta- 
bles, canned  and  otherwise,  at  the  stores.  Did  it 
pay?  Was  it  worth  the  expense,  labor  and  trouble? 
It  csrtainly  did  pay,  as  I  propose  to  show  at  the  sum- 
ming up  of  the  season's  work.  Meanwhile  it  may  be 
well  to  see  what  was  obtained  for  the  money.  By 
the  first  of  June  the  following  vegetables  had  been 
planted  at  different  times  :  four  kinds  of  peas,  four 
kinds  of  radish,  upland  cress,  chicory,  leeks,  potatoes, 


CLOSE    CROPPING.  85 

two  kinds  of  spinach,  two  of  onions,  two  of  squash, 
carrots,  parsnips,  two  kinds  of  beets,  two  of  bush 
beans,  four  of  lettuce,  four  of  cabbage,  two  of  cauli- 
flower, one  variety  each  of  tomato  and  turnips,  and 
three  kinds  of  celery.  Quite  a  bill  of  fare  for  a  small 
place.  There  was,  beside  this,  a  small  strawberry 
bed,  a  cutting  bed  of  currants,  and  one  of  grapes, 
both  of  which  received  a  part  of  the  labor  and  fer- 
tilizer. In  addition  to  all  this  there  was  a  good  flower 
garden,  that  demanded  more  or  less  attention,  and 
produced  a  very  large  crop  of  flowers  from  the  first 
of  June  till  frost  in  October.  The  object  of  having 
this  great  variety  of  vegetables  was  twofold.  In  the 
first  place,  it  is  important  to  find  out  something  con- 
cerning the  character  of  the  soil  in  a  garden,  and  the 
only  way  to  do  it  is  to  try  many  kinds.  For  instance, 
I  learned  that  turnips  and  radishes  were  unsuccess- 
ful, lettuce  and  celery  very  successful,  showing  that 
the  soil  was  best  for  the  last,  and  that  in  the  future 
it  would  be  better  to  have  more  of  one  and  less  of  the 
other.  In  the  second  place,  to  get  the  best  return 
from  a  garden,  attention  must  be  paid  to  the  daily 
bill  of  fare  in  the  house.  The  selection  of  seeds  and 
the  planting  must  be  so  arranged  that  there  is  always 
a  succession  of  things  for  the  table,  and  not  too  much 
at  any  one  time.  Even  with  this  great  variety,  we 
had  in  July  eighteen  heads  of  cauliflower  ripe  at  one 
time,  far  more  than  could  be  used,  and  a  dozen  heads 
were  given  away  to  the  neighbors.  It  was  the  same 
with  summer  cabbage,  nearly  two  dozen  ready  at  one 
time,  a  bigger  crop  than  the  home  market  could  ab- 
sorb. Other  things  came  to  perfection  in  about  the 
right  quantities,  and  the  table  was  usually  supplied 
with  three  kinds  of  vegetables  every  day  through  the 
summer.  After  the  first  of  June  no  vegetables,  ex- 
cept potatoes,  were  bought,  and  after  the  thirtieth  of 


86  MV  HANDKERCHIEF   GARDEN, 

June  nothing  whatever  was  purchased  in  the  way  of 
vegetables  for  many  weeks,  and  had  late  potatoes 
been  planted,  the  garden  would  have  carried  the 
house  till  December. 

The  labor  spent  through  the  sumrr.er  was  very 
light.  Spreading  the  fertilizer,  transplanting  and 
raking  over  the  soil  to  keep  down  the  weeds,  made 
the  whole  of  the  work,  and  none  of  it  took  over  two 
hours  on  any  one  day.  The  crops  were  gathered 
every  day,  just  before  or  after  breakfast,  and  took 
only  a  few  moments,  when  a  little  turn  in  the  fresh 
air  was  more  a  pleasure  than  a  task.  The  system  of 
overlapping  crops  already  described  worked  perfectly. 
On  a  plot  6xio  feet  I  planted  Savoy-leaved  spinach, 
and  when  well  up  set  out  very  close  together  between 
the  rows  three  dozen  early  Jersey  cabbages.  Six 
pecks  of  spinach  were  taken  off  the  plot,  the  two  first 
pickings  being  "thinnings."  The  spinach  com- 
pletely covered  the  ground  and  yet  it  was  all 
cleared  off  before  it  interfered  with  the  young 
cabbage  plants.  The  final  picking  was  like  a 
transformation  scene,  the  dark  green  of  the 
spinach  bed  being  in  a  few  moments  changed  to  the 
pale  green  of  a  cabbage  patch.  On  another  part  of 
my  grounds  I  planted  spinach  in  long  rows,  and  as 
soon  as  the  plants  appeared  set  rows  of  cauliflowers 
between  the  rows.  The  spinach  was  gathered  as 
soon  as  the  plants  began  to  touch  the  cauliflowers. 
In  another  place  a  row  of  early  cabbages  was  set  out 
and  on  the  same  day  spinach  seed  was  planted  be- 
tween each  plant.  The  spinach  came  up  and  was 
gathered  before  it  troubled  the  cabbages.  By  using 
the  spinach  when  about  half  grown  I  had  an  excellent 
crop  of  early  greens  on  the  same  ground  occupied 
by  other  plants.  Afterwards,  as  the  cabbages  were 
removed,   late    sweet    corn    was    planted,    so    that 


CLOSE    CROPPING.  37 

the  ground   actually  produced   three   crops   in   one 
season. 

To  still  further  carry  out  the  plan  of  close  cropping 
I  planted  summer  squash  between  the  rows  of  peas 
(second  planting)  and  found  no  trouble  from  inter- 
ference, the  peas  being  pulled  up  before  the  squashes 
wanted  the  room.  I  had  also  under  way  a  trial  of 
peas  and  beans  (Laxton's  Early  and  Early  Mohawk), 
the  beans  being  planted  in  hills  between  every  other 
row  of  peas  and  the  peas  trained  away  from  the 
beans.  The  experiment  worked  well.  The  beans 
were  planted  just  as  the  peas  began  to  flower. 

Another  experiment  in  crowding  the  land  was  to 
plant  onion  sets  in  rows  and  quite  thick  in  the  row, 
and  to  plant  cauliflower  plants  between  the  rows 
when  the  onions  were  about  six  inches  high.  The 
demands  of  the  table  gradually  used  up  the  onions 
by  pulling  up  every  other  plant,  and  the  open  foliage 
of  the  onion  did  not  seem  to  annoy  the  cauliflowers. 
Finally  the  onions  all  disappeared,  and  then  the 
cauliflowers  ripened  and  were  pulled  up  and  made 
room  for  celery  plants  in  August. 

Lettuce  plants  set  out  from  seed  box  in  window 
were  planted  in  April  between  young  strawberry 
plants  and  were  well  headed  before  the  strawberry 
plants  began  to  run.  Among  other  stray  bits  of  in- 
formation I  picked  up  the  fact  that  if  bush  beans  are 
injured,  as  mine  were,  by  early  cold  rains,  it  is  per- 
fectly easy  to  transplant  the  young  plants  to  repair 
broken  rows.  In  a  home  lot  space  is  too  valuable  to 
allow  broken  rows  to  mature.  It's  better  to  trans- 
plant and  use  the  space  with  something  else. 

Another  bit  of  crowding  was  arranged  in  this  way: 
Two  rows  of  spinach  were  sown  (east  and  west)  near 
the  fence  and  parallel  with  it.  As  soon  as  well  up, 
early  cabbages  were  set  out  between  the  rows.     The 


88  MY  HANDKERCHIEF   GARDEN. 

spinach  was  pulled  and  eaten  before  it  troubled  the 
cabbage  plants,  and  then  tomato  plants  were  set  next 
the  fence  and  trained  up  against  it,  and  before  the 
tomatoes  were  ripe  the  cabbage  had  headed  and, 
when  pulled,  left  all  the  space  for  the  tomato  plants. 
None  of  these  crops  seemed  in  the  least  degree  in- 
commoded by  the  others,  nor  did  they  fail  to  give 
excellent  returns  three  times  during  the  season.  In 
ordinary  garden  planting  the  plants  would  have 
been  set  in  different  places  at  a  loss  of  space  and 
labor  in  caring  for  them.  The  ground  occupied  by 
this  experiment  measured  just  19x3  feet,  and  it  pro- 
duced two  pecks  of  spinach,  twenty  heads  of  early 
cabbage,  and  carried  six  large  tomato  plants  that 
produced  a  fair  crop  of  tomatoes.  It  is  only  by  this 
system  of  close  cropping  that  a  handkerchief  garden 
can  be  made  to  pay  large  profits,  and  it  is  the  only 
plan  I  would  ever  employ  in  my  own  garden.  If  you 
mean  to  garden  at  all,  do  it  in  this  way  and  wring 
from  the  ground  all  the  return  it  can  possibly  give. 
Make  the  garden  tell. 


^iV9(S 


A    DISH   OF   SALADS. 


80 


CHAPTER   VII. 

A    DISf)    QF    SALADS. 

OU  have  a  little  space  at  the 
back  of  the  house.  It  is  very 
small,  so  small  indeed  that  it 
seems  hardly  worth  while  to 
use  it.  There's  nothing  in  it, 
save  a  few  rank  weeds.  The 
sun  only  shines  there  a  part 
of  each  day.  If  weeds  will 
grow,  something  better  will 
grow.  The  actual  surface  may 
be  only  a  bed  along  the  fence, 
say  25x4  feet.  Small  as  the 
border  is,  it  can  be  made  to 
keep  your  table  in  salads  four  months  out  of  every 
twelve. 

First  of  the  soil.  Dig  it  up  and  see  what  it  is  like. 
As  nearly  all  our  cities  grow  outward  into  the  coun- 
try, it  often  happens  that  the  yards  about  the  houses 
contain  very  fair  soil.  If  it  is  thin  and  sandy,  good 
garden  loam  should  be  procured.  Two  one-horse 
loads  should  be  enough.  The  florists  can  usually 
provide  it  for  about  $2  a  load.  If  it  is  very  heavy  and 
is  wet  for  sometime  after  a  rain  and  cracks  when  dry- 
ing in  the  sun,  it  has  too  much  clay,  and  this  defect 
can  be  easily  cured  by  the  addition  of  about  a  barrel 
of  sand  from  the  mason's  yard.  If  weeds  grow,  the 
soil  is  pretty  nearly  right,  and  can  be  made  just  right 
by  the  addition  of  manure  from  barn  or  stable.  If 
this  cannot  be  procured,  use  one  of  the  standard  fer- 
tilizers, together  with  ground  bone  or  bone-meal  and 
wood  ashes.  These  things  can  be  procured  at  the 
seed  stores  by  the  pound.     If  possible  have  the  soil 


40  MY   HANDKERCHIEF   GARDEN. 

spaded  up  roughly  and  left  in  that  condition  all  win- 
ter. In  the  spring  the  fertilizers  can  be  spread  over 
the  surface  and  forked  in  as  soon  as  the  ground  is 
dry.  Four  pounds  of  commercial  fertilizer,  one  pound 
of  bone-meal  and  half  a  bushel  of  wood  ashes  will 
make  a  good  mixture.  There  should  be  about  five 
pounds  more  of  the  fertilizer  on  hand  for  use  at  inter- 
vals during  the  growing  season. 

The  thing  to  grow  is  lettuce.  It  is  the  most  useful 
crop  we  can  have,  one  of  the  most  simple  and  easy  of 
culture,  and  it  is  always  acceptable  on  the  table.  If 
you  can  raise  but  one  crop,  let  it  always  be  some 
variety  of  lettuce.  If  you  have  a  sunny  window,  you 
will  be 'surprised  to  find  how  many  dozen  heads  of 
lettuce  can  be  gathered  from  this  mere  ribbon  of 
ground.  The  cost,  including  the  fertilizer,  will  be 
very  small,  and  the  only  labor  of  any  consequence 
will  be*  in  spading  up  the  ground.  This  ought  not  to 
exceed  one  hour's  labor  about  six  times  each  season 
and  the  few  moments*  attention  once  or  twice  a  day 
from  the  first  of  March  to  the  last  of  October.  Much 
of  the  time,  however,  there  will  be  nothing  to  do  for 
weeks  beyond  the  gathering  of  the  daily  crop.  The 
entire  time  spent  in  caring  for  the  lettuce  will  proba- 
bly be  less  than  the  time  required  to  go  every  day  to 
the  store  to  buy  your  lettuce. 

The  first  planting  in  a  flower  pot  or  small  wooden 
box  should  be  about  the  first  of  March.  These  plants 
should  be  set  out  in  the  little  bed  by  the  tenth  of 
April,  setting  the  young  plants  in  three  rows  one  foot 
apart  each  way.  One-quarter  of  a  ten-cent  package 
of  seed  will  be  ample  for  this  first  planting.  A  six- 
inch  flower  pot  will  easily  hold  it,  and  if  three  dozen 
plants  are  set  out  in  the  border,  it  will  be  enough  for 
the  first  crop.  One  of  the  best  varieties  to  use  is  the 
''Boston  Market"  (or  Tennis  Ball). 


A    DISH   OF  SALADS.  41 

• 

About  the  twentieth  of  March  make  a  second  sow- 
ing of  the  same  quantity  of  seed  in  a  box  or  pot  in 
the  window.  The  young  plants  will  be  ready  to  set 
out  in  the  garden  in  about  thirty  days.  As  the  first 
crop  is  still  in  the  ground,  set  these  new  plants  in  a 
small  bed  by  themselves  about  three  inches  apart. 
They  will  stand  in  this  bed  till  there  is  room  made 
for  them  by  the  maturing  of  the  first  crop.  As  fast 
as  a  head  is  ripe,  pull  it  up  and  send  it  to  the  table, 
and  stir  up  the  soil  and  set  a  new  plant  from  the 
small  bed.  Leave  none  of  the  space  idle  and  keep 
transplanting  at  every  opportunity  that  offers.  It 
will  be  found  that  the  crop  will  mature  faster  at 
times  than  it  can  be  eaten.  In  this  case  the  heads 
can  stand  for  a  day  or  two  without  injury.  Small  as 
the  bed  is,  it  will  carry  in  various  stages  from  four  to 
seven  dozen  or  even  more  through  the  early  summer, 
and  will  easily  give  one  head  a  day  for  the  larger  part 
of  the  season.  With  care  it  will  be  quite  possible  to 
have  a  head  a  day  from  June  first  to  October  first,  or 
even  later.  If  there  is  any  gap  in  the  supply,  it  will 
come  in  July  or  August,  when  the  warm  weather 
causes  the  plants  to  run  up  to  seed. 

The  third  planting  should  be  in  the  open  border 
about  the  middle  of  April,  transplanting  three  inches 
apart  as  soon  as  the  plants  crowd  each  other,  and  a 
foot  apart  when  the  young  plants  again  touch  each 
other.  For  the  fourth  planting,  which  will  be  out- 
of-doors,  use  the  "  Hanson  "  lettuce,  and  this  should 
be  sown  by  the  tenth  of  May.  Plant  the  "  White  Rus- 
sian "  on  the  first  of  June  and  twentieth  of  June.  To 
extend  the  season,  plant  the  "  Tennis  Ball  '  variety 
again  on  the  first  of  August,  and  for  the  last  time 
about  the  fifteenth  of  August.  These  last  two  plant- 
ings will  carry  the  crop  well  into  October  and  keep 
up  the  supply  till  the  frost  cuts  the  plants  down. 


42  MY   HANDKERCHIEF   GARDEN. 

• 

The  work  of  attending  this  series  of  crops  is  very 
simple.  On  the  day  following  every  rain,  break  the 
surface  of  the  soil  round  the  plants  by  raking  it 
lightly.  A  small  steel  rake,  such  as  is  often  sold  in 
"children's  sets"  of  tools,  will  be  found  useful.  This 
raking  will  also  keep  the  weeds  down,  but  if  weeds 
do  appear,  rake  them  up  as  soon  as  possible.  In  this 
way  all  the  hard  work  of  hoeing  will  be  saved.  About 
every  two  weeks  through  the  season  sow  some  com- 
mercial fertilizer  thinly  over  the  surface  of  the  ground 
just  before  a  rain,  and  rake  the  soil  gently  to  cover  it. 
If  very  dry  weather  comes,  shower  the  plants  thor- 
oughly on  a  bright  sunny  morning  about  twice  a 
week. 

It  will  be  seen  that  this  is  very  high  as  well  as 
small  culture,  and  it  will  be  found  to  be  very  profit- 
able. Such  a  little  border  should  carry  four  crops  of 
at  least  five  dozen  heads  each,  and  even  at  three  cents 
a  head,  should  save  $3.60  on  your  grocer's  bill.  Tri- 
fling little  return  you  think  ?  It  is  small,  but  the  bed  is 
very  small.  It  may  cost  a  few  moments'  trouble,  and 
a  little  something  for  seed,  soil,  fertilizer,  pots,  etc. 
It  may  even  cost  more  than  you  get  the  first  year,  but 
another  season  you  should  do  much  better.  Try  it 
and  you  will  be  convinced  that  it  will  pay,  because 
the  lettuce,  with  care,  will  be  superior  to  any  heads 
you  can  buy  at  any  price  in  the  stores.  Fresh  lettuce 
is  one  thing,  store  lettuce  quite  another. 

If  a  little  more  space  can  be  used,  say  one  or  two 
square  yards  more,  sow  in  the  early  spring  seeds  of 
parsley.  It  will  be  very  welcome  to  the  house-mother 
all  through  the  latter  half  of  the  summer.  To  ex- 
tend the  season  take  up  some  of  the  best  plants  in 
September,  and  they  will  grow  in  pots  or  boxes  in  a 
sunny  window  well  into  December,  and  furnish  flavor- 
ing   for  soups,    or  dressing  for  fish.     Another  good 


A    DISH   OF   SALAD.  43 

plan  is  to  buy  a  package  of  any  good  celery  seed 
and  to  sow  it  thickly  in  rows  about  a  foot  apart.  As 
the  young  plants  come  up  pull  the  larger  ones  as 
you  may  wish  them  for  the  soup-pot.  Even  when  the 
plants  are  only  a  few  inches  high  they  make  excel- 
lent flavoring  for  soups.  Another  very  useful  plant  is 
the  new  Upland  Cress.  Sow  half  a  paper  broad-cast 
in  a  little  bed,  and  as  fast  as  you  want  it  for  dressing 
a  dish  of  fish,  pull  up  the  larger  plants.  A  little  later, 
cut  off  the  larger  leaves  as  wanted,  A  few  of  the  plants 
set  out  in  the  border  in  a  row,  and  about  eighteen 
inches  apart  will  extend  the  supply.  The  first  sowing 
should  be  in  April  and  a  second  sowing  late   in   May. 

If  the  family  is  small  and  less  lettuce  is  needed,  it 
will  be  a  good  plan  to  omit  one  row  of  the  lettuce 
next  the  fence,  and  to  set  out  in  April  a  pint  of  onion 
sets.  Plant  them  quite  thickly,  and  by  the  first  of 
June  they  can  be  pulled  as  fast  as  wanted  for  soups 
and  stews.  Pull  every  other  one  along  the  row,  and 
then  every  other  one  again.  In  this  way,  in  the  course 
of  a  month,  they  will  be  slowly  consumed,  and  those 
that  remain  longest  in  the  ground  will  have  room  to 
grow.  In  crediting  your  garden  with  these  small 
"stew-greens,"  parsley,  cress,  onions  and  celery,  find 
out  the  price  at  the  stores.  They  are  usually  sold  in 
mixed  bunches,  several  kinds  in  a  bunch,  at  from  two 
to  five  cents  a  bunch.  These  may  seem  trifles,  yet 
they  will  save  many  a  trip  to  the  store,  and  many  an 
odd  penny  that  goes  to  make  up  a  dollar,  and  help 
wonderfully  in  piecing  out  a  "  picked-up  dinner." 

Another  useful  plant  is  the  Fetticus  or  Corn  Salad. 
It  can  be  sown  early  in  the  spring,  and  is  ready  for 
the  table  in  about  six  weeks.  Another  plan  is  to  sow 
it  in  rows  a  foot  apart  in  September.  When  the 
ground  freezes  it  must  be  covered  with  leaves  or  straw, 
and  on  approach  of  severe  cold  weather  it  must  be 


44 


MV   HANDKERCHIEF   GARDEN. 


covered  six  inches  deep.     It  is  uncovered  early  in  the 
spring,  and  is  ready  to  cut  in  a  very  few  weeks. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 


OJBAT   TO    DO    UJITf)   A   (fITY   YARD. 


1 

1 

m: 

■■:A 

IVEN  a  city  lot  and  we  have  an 
area  of  25x100.  The  house  occu- 
pies usually  about  40  of  the  100 
feet,  leaving  an  open  space  in  the 
rear  of  25x60.  Here  the  weekly 
wash  must  dry,  and  for  this  pur- 
pose there  must  be  grass.  The 
maid,  when  in  the  garden  hanging  out  the  clothes, 
would  be  heavy  of  foot  on  lettuce  or  roses,  and  so  it 
usually  happens  the  back  yard  produces  nothing  but 
grass.  The  usual  plan  is  to  stretch  the  lines  across 
the  yard  from  the  fence,  and,  if  the  wash  is  large,  the 
whole  of  the  line  is  occupied  close  up  to  the  fences 
on  each  side.  This  makes  even  a  narrow  border 
round  the  edge  of  the  yard  almost  useless,  and  neither 
flowers  nor  vegetables  are  ever  attempted.  A  better 
way  would  be  to  measure  off  the  first  six  feet  of  the 
yard,  next  the  house,  for  the  whole  width,  and  lay  it 
with  brick  or  stone  for  a  walk  or  out-door  sitting- 
room  for  summer  evenings.  Then  lay  off  a  space  for 
grass  in  the  center  17x48  feet.  This  would  leave  a 
border  four  feet  wide  on  each  side,  and  a  border  six 
feet  wide  at  the  opposite  end  from  the  house.  The 
space  in  the  center  would  be  for  the  use  of  the  maid 
on  Monday,  and  for  a  pleasant  play-ground  for  the 
children  on  other  davs.     It  would  be  also  a  lawn  and 


WHAT    TO    DO    WITH  A    CITY    YARD.  45 

a  walk,  from  which  to  tend  the  borders.  Instead  of 
carrying  the  clothes  line  to  the  fence,  have  a  post  at 
each  corner  of  the  grass  plot. 

Too  much  trouble  for  a  few  heads  of  lettuce. 
Think  so  ?     Try  it  and  you'll  be  glad  you  did  try  it. 

Such  an  arrangement  of  a  city  yard  would  give 
three  borders,  one  6x25,  and  two,  each  4x48  =  534 
square  feet.  If  the  wash  '' is  sent  out,"  more  space 
could  be  gained  by  making  the  two  side  borders  each 
two  feet  wider.  It  would  not  be  well  to  make  them 
wider  than  this,  as  six  feet  is  about  as  far  as  you  can 
conveniently  reach  with  a  hoe  or  rake  while  standing 
on  the  grass.  Many  city  yards  that  I  have  seen  in 
New  York  are  arranged  in  this  way,  except  that  there 
is  a  stone-covered  walk  eighteen  inches  wide  around 
the  grass  plot,  and  leaving  a  very  narrow  border, 
often  only  a  foot  and  a  half  wide,  next  the  fence  or 
three  sides.  Such  a  walk  is  a  waste  of  room,  for  the 
grass  plot  can  be  used  for  a  walk  at  a  wonderful  gain 
in  comfort.  No  man  has  yet  invented  a  carpet  equal 
to  grass  for  feet  weary  of  city  side-walks. 

City  yards  are  often  used  for  flowers  or  for  a  few 
vegetables,  and  sometimes  with  ill  success.  There 
are  two  reasons  for  this.  One  is  that  the  soil  is  usu- 
ally poor  and  thin  or  stiff  with  clay.  You  must  have 
good  soil,  and  this  is  neither  very  difficult  nor  ex- 
pensive to  obtain,  as  is  explained  elsewhere  between 
these  covers.  The  other  reason  is  the  want  of  sun- 
light. The  tall  houses  on  every  side  cut  off  the  direct 
sunlight  for  a  portion  of  the  day.  This  is  not  a  fatal 
objection,  if  the  right  kind  of  plants  are  selected. 
There  are  plants  that  will  flourish  in  partial  shade, 
and  by  using  these  very  nearly  as  good  results  can 
be  obtained  as  in  the  best  country  garden. 

The  first  thing  to  consider  is  the  aspect.  Which  is 
the  sunny  end  of  the   place,  which   the  shady   part  ? 


46  MV   HANDKERCHIEF   GARDEN. 

If  the  house  is  at  the  south  end  of  the  yard,  its  shadow 
will  be  on  the  walk  antl  the  warm  sunny  corners 
will  be  at  the  opposite  end  of  the  yard.  The  plants 
needing  the  most  light  will  therefore  go  to  the  north 
end.  As  the  morning  sun  is  better  than  the  after- 
noon sun,  the  west  border  (facing  east)  is  the  next 
most  valuable  place.  The  aspect  is,  therefore,  of 
value  in  this  order  :  First,  the  north  border  ;  then  the 
west  border,  and,  lastly,  the  east  border.  The  north 
border  is  best  for  tomatoes,  cucumbers  or  melons, 
the  west  for  beets  or  carrots,  and  the  east  border  for 
celery  or  lettuce. 

In  such  a  very  limited  garden  it  will  not  be  worth 
while  to  attempt  a  great  variety  of  plants.  It  is  too 
small  to  carry  all  that  would  be  needed  in  a  family  of 
live,  and  the  best  that  can  be  done  is  to  have  a  few 
kinds  only,  and  of  these  only  those  that  will  thrive  in 
partial  shade.  One  of  the  first  things  to  set  out  in 
spring  should  be  rhubarb.  Six  good  roots  planted 
near  the  north  end  of  the  west  border  will  be  enough. 
This  is  in  the  nature  of  a  permanent  plantation,  and 
once  set  will  last  for  years.  The  roots  must  be  bought 
quite  early  in  the  spring  when  the  rosy  tips  of*  the 
leaves  are  just  showing  above  ground.  The  roots  are 
usually  cut  into  small  pieces,  and  they  should  stand 
in  the  center  of  the  border  three  feet  apart.  The 
soil  should  be  made  as  rich  as  possible  before  plant- 
ing, good  barn  manure  being  best.  If  it  cannot  be 
obtained,  use  commercial  fertilizers  at  intervals  dur- 
ing the  summer,  as  the  plants  grow.  Set  the  roots  in 
the  ground  with  the  growing  point  just  under  the 
surface.  As  the  plants  grow  let  them  spread  as  they 
will.  Do  not  cut  any  of  the  stalks  the  first  season. 
When  the  flower  stalks  appear  cut  them  off,  as  they 
only  tend  to  weaken  the  plants.  Rake  the  soil  round 
the  plants  after  every  rain,  or  as  often  as  weeds  ap- 


WHAT    TO    DO     WITH   A    CITY    YARD.  47 

pear.  The  first  crop  of  stalks  can  be  taken  off  the 
second  spring.  Pull  them  off  with  a  sideways  twist 
to  break  the  stalk  close  to  the  root.  If  convenient 
cover  the  roots  in  the  fall  with  coarse  stable  manure 
and  rake  it  off  clean  in  the  spring,  as  soon  as  the 
frost  leaves  the  ground. 

If  your  space  is  crowded,  a  single  row  of  lettuce 
might  be  put  in  front  of  the  rhubarb  plants  in  the 
spring,  before  the  leaves  begin  to  spread. 

For  the  north  end  of  the  plot  tomatoes  will  be  use- 
ful. Buy  the  plants  already  started  in  pots.  Six  or 
seven  plants  can  be  placed  at  equal  distances  across 
the  end  of  the  bed  next  the  fence.  As  they  grow,  it 
will  be  found  a  good  plan  to  give  them  a  large  trellis 
or  guard  for  support.  One  good  way  is  to  support  a 
barrel  hoop  on  three  small  stakes  and  to  put  the  hoop 
over  the  plants  so  that  the  heavy  branches  will  spread 
over  and  lean  upon  it,  and  carry  the  fruit  above 
the  ground.  Another  good  idea  is  to  get  two  light 
wooden  strips  and  place  one  on  each  side  of  the  six 
plants  and  support  them  at  each  end  with  stakes 
driven  cross-wise  into  the  ground.  Several  of 
the  seedsmen  advertise  a  very  good  tomato  trellis 
hinged  at  the  top,  and  ready  for  immediate  use  in 
the  garden.  The  main  thing  is  to  keep  the  heavy 
branches  off  the  ground,  and  a  few  sticks  and  a  lit- 
tle gumption  will  do  it. 

Tomatoes  are  very  cheap  and  it  might  be  said  that 
there  are  more  profitable  plants  for  a  city  lot.  This 
is  true,  and  yet  it  will  be  found  an  advantage  to  cul- 
tivate tomatoes,  as  the  fruit  is  best  when  quite  fresh. 
In  the  early  spring,  while  plants  are  small,  the  first 
three  feet  of  this  border,  next  the  grass,  can  be  used 
for  lettuce,  spinach  or  radish. 

If  preferred  this  warm  border  can  be  used  for 
cucumbers  or  melons  (not  both.)     The  cucumber  is  a 


48  MV   HANDKERCHIEF   GARDEN. 

vine  that  can  be  easily  trained  on  a  trellis,  and  in  a 
garden  where  space  is  so  valuable,  it  will  be  found  a 
good  plan  to  set  up  a  trellis  of  galvanized  wire  fence- 
netting.  It  is  about  a  yard  wide,  and  only  enough  is 
needed  to  reach  across  the  lot.  It  should  be  sup- 
ported on  blocks  from  the  fence  to  leave  a  few  inches 
clear  space  behind  it.  When  the  posts  are  on  this  side 
of  the  fence  it  could  be  nailed  to  the  posts.  Six  hills 
of  cucumbers  planted  close  to  the  netting  would  fill 
the  space,  and  the  young  vines,  when  they  are  once 
led  up  to  the  trellis,  will  quickly  run  all  over  it,  bear- 
ing their  fruit  and  flowers  in  the  air,  instead  of  on 
the  ground  in  the  usual  way.  The  fruit  will  hang 
from  the  vine  and  ripen  on  the  fence  just  as  well  as 
when  lying  on  the  ground.  If  there  are  more  vines 
than  will  fill  the  trellis,  let  them  spread  over  the 
ground  in  front  of  it. 

The  culture  of  the  cucumber  and  its  cousir..,  the 
melon,  is  very  simple.  Have  the  soil  made  rich  and 
soft,  and  sow  about  twent}'  seeds  in  an  open  ring  or 
a  circular  patch  and  cover  thinly  with  soil  pressed 
down  firmly.  As  they  appear,  pull  the  weakest  ones 
out.  Wait  a  week  or  ten  days  and  then  pull  up  all 
except  six  in  each  hill  or  group.  In  this  way  the  ex- 
cess of  plants  serves  as  insurance  against  insects. 
Some  will  be  sure  to  be  destroyed,  and  by  having  too 
many  the  crop  can  be  saved.  The  after-culture  con- 
sists in  keeping  the  ground  raked  after  rains  till  the 
plants  become  so  thick  that  nothing  more  can  be 
done.  The  vines  should  be  examined  every  morning 
and  all  the  ripe  fruit  removed,  as  a  single  cucumber, 
left  to  mature  and  ripen  its  seed  will  injure  the 
vine  far  more  than  two  dozen  cut  when  half  grown. 
The  White  Spine  Cucumber  will  be  found  a  good 
standard  kind. 

It  seems  to  be  a  law  in  plant  growth  that,  if  any 


WHAT    TO    DO    WITH  A    CITY ,  YARD,  49 


plant  is  allowed  to  mature  its  fruit  and  perfect  its 
seeds,  it  iscontent  and  will  make  no  special  exertion 
to  bear  more  fruit  that  season.  If  its  flowers  or  half- 
ripe  fruits  are  removed  it  endeavors  to  produce  more. 
If  those  in  turn  are  taken  away  it  will  again  flower, 
and  seek  to  produce  fruit  and  seeds.  This  is  very- 
marked  in  the  case  of  annuals,  like  the  cucumber  and 
sweet  pea.  If  the  flowers  are  constantly  cut,  the 
vine  will  bear  a  great  many  flowers  and  keep  in 
bloom  for  several  weeks.  If  the  first  flowers  mature, 
and  pods  and  seeds  are  allowed  to  ripen,  the  crop 
of  pea-blooms  will  be  very  small  and  the  time  of 
blooming  short.  The  more  cucumbers  you  cut,  the 
more  you  will  have.  Better  cut  your  cucumbers 
every  day  and  give  them  away,  for  the  more  you  give 
the  more  you  will  have  to  keep.  Selfishness  never 
pays  as  a  regular  crop. 

For  the  east  or  most  shady  border  the  best  things 
to  grow  are  lettuce  and  celery.  Two  crops  of  lettuce 
(see  Chapter  VII.)  can  be  taken  off  the  border  before 
the  celery  is  put  in.  Buy  the  dwarf  kinds  of  celery 
plants  of  your  seedsman,  and  set  out  the  plants  in  a 
single  row,  about  ten  inches  apart,  placing  the  row  in 
the  middle  of  the  border.  The  culture  is  very  easy 
when  the  one  idea  on  which  it  is  based  is  understood. 
The  celery  is  a  plant  that  is  greatly  improved  by 
growing  in  the  dark.  The  tough,  green  stems  become 
crisp  and  brittle  in  the  shade,  and  any  method  by 
which  the  stalks  are  protected  from  the  light  will 
give  good  celery.  A  bunch  of  plants  growing  thickly 
together  in  a  mass,  will  so  shade  each  other  that 
those  in  the  center  will  be  blanched  naturally.  The 
most  simple  way  to  secure  the  blanched  stems  is  to 
cover  them  with  earth.  This  is  called  "earthing"  or 
"  bunching  up,"  and  it  is  nothing  more  then  piling 
the  soil  against  the  plants  as  they  grow. 


50  MV   HANDKERCHIEF   GARDEN, 

The  young  plants  should  be  set  out  between  the 
sixteenth  of  July  and  the  first  of  August,  and  for  the 
first  month  the  culture  consists  in  keeping  the  ground 
loose  and  free  from  weeds.  If  the  soil  is  very  dry 
and  there  is  little  rain,  copious  waterings  twice  a 
week  will  be  found  useful,  as  the  celery  is  by  nature 
a  swamp-haunting  plant  and  a  great  lover  of  water. 
In  ordinary  seasons  and  in  a  clay  or  peaty  soil  water- 
ing does  not  seem  to  be  necessary.  I  have  raised  on 
a  clay  soil  fair  crops  without  it,  though  I  cannot  say 
how  much  better  the  result  would  have  been  if  a  hose 
had  been  brought  to  help  the  hoe. 

For  about  a  month  after  setting  the  plants  they 
appear  to  stand  still  and  to  make  no  growth.  They 
are  really  extending  their  roots,  and  as  soon  as  cool 
weather  comes  in  early  October  they  grow  rapidly. 
As  soon  as  this  growth  begins  the  first  earthing-up 
must  be  done.  One  way  is  to  tie  all  the  stems  of  a 
plant  together  in  a  bunch,  by  tying  a  string  just  under 
the  leaves.  Another  plan  is  to  simply  bunch  the 
stems  together  with  the  hand  while  the  soil  on  each 
side  is  pulled  up  against  the  plants,  to  bury  them 
about  half  their  length.  Two  weeks  later  more  soil 
is  pressed  up  against  the  stems  till  only  the  tops  are 
visible,  banking  it  up  into  place  with  the  back  of  the 
spade.  The  plan  of  tying  together  with  a  string  is 
best,  as  it  can  be  done  by  a  boy  very  quickly  and 
once  tying  saves  all  further  handling  of  the  plants, 
and  causes  the  center  stems  to  blanch  even  before 
covered  with  earth. 

Another  plan  is  to  tie  all  the  plants  in  a  row  and 
then  to  set  boards  on  edge  close  to  the  plants,  one  on 
each  side,  and  thus  to  exclude  the  light  v/ithout  earth- 
ing up.  The  boards  are  easily  kept  in  place  by  stakes 
driven  in  the  ground,  and  the  boards  tend  to  make 
the  plants  taller  as  they  stretch  up  to  find  the  light. 


WHAT    TO    DO     WITH   A     CITY    YARD.  51 

The  boards  should  lean  against  the  plants,  and  may 
be  kept  in  place  by  simply  piling  the  earth  against 
them.  White  Plume  and  Boston  Market  are  good 
white  kinds,  and  New  Rose  a  good  crimson  variety. 

Another  crop  useful  in  such  a  small  garden  would 
be  spinach.  Two  sowings  in  the  spring  and  one  in 
the  fall  would  be  best,  as  city  yards  are  apt  to  be  in- 
tensely hot  in  the  middle  of  the  day  through  the 
summer  months.  Either  of  the  borders  would  do, 
and  the  first  sowing  should  come  as  early  as  the 
weather  will  permit  and  the  soil  is  dry.  Make  shal- 
low drills  in  the  soil  with  a  hoe  and  scatter  the  seed 
quite  thickly.  Cover  it  lightly  and  press  the  soil 
down  firm.  The  rows  can  be  as  close  as  the  width  of 
your  hoe.  As  soon  as  the  plants  are  three  or  four 
inches  high,  pull  out  the  larger  plants  and  send  to 
the  cook.  Two  weeks  later  all  can  be  gathered  as 
fast  as  wanted.  In  my  garden  in  1888  the  first  plant- 
ing was  made  April  i6th  and  the  first  crop  was  gath- 
ered May  26th.  Two  crops  of  spinach  can  be  taken 
off  before  it  is  time  to  set  out  the  celery.  A  fall  crop 
should  be  sown  in  any  spare  place  that  can  be  found 
about  September  ist.  This  crop,  too,  can  be  planted 
quite  thick  and  two  gatherings  made,  one  to  thin  out 
and  the  second  to  clear  off  what  is  left.  Of  course  it 
may  happen  that  more  can  be  gathered  each  time 
than  is  wanted.  The  idea  is  simply  to  pick  the 
spinach  twice  during  its  growth,  at  such  intervals 
and  in  such  quantities  as  may  be  needed.  My  fall 
crop  in  1887  was  planted  September  6th,  and  was  all 
consumed  before  the  ground  froze  hard  in  November, 
being  gathered  in  all  six  times,  giving  about  a  peck 
at  each  picking.  In  such  a  city-lot  garden  the  whole 
of  one  of  the  side  borders  would  not  be  too  much 
space  for  fall  spinach,  two  sowings  being  made,  one 
about  August   15th  and   the  second   September  ist. 


53  MV   HANDKERCHIEF   GARDEN. 

Another  good  plan  would  be  to  plant  in  September, 
thin  out  the  plants  and  then  to  cover  them  over  with 
old  hay  or  straw  for  the  winter.  The  only  objection 
is  the  difficulty  of  getting  suitable  material  to  cover 
the  plants,  and  the  litter  it  would  make  in  a  place 
that  the  house-mother  would  prefer  to  see  kept  ex- 
quisitely neat.  You  can't  run  a  city  lot  like  a  market 
garden,  and  the  best  plan  is  to  consume  the  fall 
spinach  and  not  attempt  to  carry  it  over  the  winter. 
The  best  variety  to  use  here  is  the  Savoy-leaved 
Spinach. 

In  addition  to  these  varieties  of  vegetables,  rhubarb, 
cucumber,  tomato,  celery,  lettuce  and  spinach,  some 
space  should  be  given  to  the  small  green  crops,  pars- 
ley, cress,  onion  sets,  etc.,  described  in  the  preceding 
chapter.  These  crops  will  pretty  closely  fill  the  three 
borders,  particularly  as  a  liberal  quantity  of  celery 
and  lettuce  will  be  needed.  One  of  the  side  borders 
entirely  devoted  to  celery  will  not  be  too  much,  as  a 
family  of  five  can  easily  dispose  of  the  six  dozen 
heads  it  will  contain.  The  crop  can  be  stored  in  the 
cellar  and  kept  for  use  through  the  early  part  of  the 
winter.  With  a  little  care  the  spinach  crop  can  be 
made  to  fill  all  gaps  left  by  the  removal  of  other 
crops.  Judicious  crowding  and  double  cropping  are 
essential  in  such  a  doyley  garden  as  this. 


A    CITY  FRUIT   garden: 


53 


CHAPTER    IX. 


A   CITY    FRUIC    GARDCn. 


i 


HERE  are  many  small  home 
lots  with  excellent  soil  and 
a  good  sunny  aspect,  where 
the  tenant  or  owner  would 
gladly  have  a  garden  were 
there  time  to  attend  to  it. 
This  spring  work  of  plant- 
ing, this  weeding,  raking, 
re-planting  and  frequent 
harvesting  demands  more 
time  than  can  be  afforded.  You  are  busy  in  town  all 
day,  and  it  is  only  once  in  a  while  that  half  a  day  can 
be  spared  for  the  garden.  The  25x60  yard  is  there, 
but  it  must  be  laid  down  to  grass,  because  that 
requires  only  one  planting  in  several  years,  and  the 
mowing  need  only  take  an  hour  or  so  twice  a  month. 
The  grass  is  a  cheap  carpet  on  which  to  spread  the 
clothes,  or  it  is  the  children's  play-ground,  and  it  is 
not  necessary  to  have  it  kept  like  a  lawn. 

Still,  if  it  could  be  made  to  pay  a  return,  it  would 
help  wonderfully  in  the  little  matter  of  living  ex- 
penses. There  are  crops  that  would  just  meet  your 
wants,  crops  that  require  only  one  planting  in  two  or 
three  years,  and  some  that  will  even  last  half  a  life- 
time. There  is  asparagus  and  rhubarb,  and  perhaps 
some  of  the  small  fruits.  In  such  a  small  garden  it 
would  not  be  well  to  plant  all  the  small  fruits,  be- 
cause some  kinds  require  too  much  room  and  show 
an  unruly  spirit  in  the  matter  of  running  about  the 
estate.     The  fruits  for  your  purposes  would  be  the 


54  MY   HANDKERCHIEF   GARDEN. 

Strawberry,  currant  and  grape.  These  would  give 
something  for  the  table  from  early  summer  till  late  in 
the  fall,  excepting  for  about  three  weeks  in  August 
and  September._  This  gap  might  be  filled  by  rasp- 
berries and  blackberries,  but  these  plants  would  be 
unsuitable  for  so  small  a  place. 

In  order  to  utilize  your  space  to  the  utmost  advan- 
tage and  to  place  3'our  crops  in  the  best  aspect,  they 
should  be  arranged  in  the  following  order :  First 
(supposing  your  plot  to  lie  north  and  south)  comes 
the  rhubarb  at  the  north  or  warmest  end,  as  it  is  the 
first  thing  to  start  in  the  spring  and  needs  the  benefit 
of  the  sun  and  shelter.  Next,  the  asparagus,  then 
the  strawberries,  and,  lastly,  at  the  south  or  shady 
end,  the  currants,  as  they  will  submit  more  gracefn.lly 
to  the  shadows  than  any  of  the  others.  The  grapes 
will  extend  along  the  fence  on  each  side.  The  ac- 
companying diagram  shows  how  the  different  crops 
may  be  mapped  out.  At  the  northern  end  next  the 
fence  is  a  bed  three  feet  wide  the  whole  width  of  the 
lot.  This  will  contain  five  plants  of  rhubarb.  Two 
paths,  each  two  feet  wide  and  placed  three  feet  from 
the  side  fences,  give  access  to  the  other  beds.  Be- 
tween the  paths  and  next  the  rhubarb  bed  is  a  space 
15x15  feet  that  may  be  set  out  as  a  permanent  aspara- 
gus bed,  the  plants  standing  in  rows  three  feet  apart. 
Next  to  this  is  a  space  15x25  feet  that  should  be  set 
out  with  strawberry  plants,  placed  one  foot  apart 
each  way,  there  being  room  for  three  hundred  and 
fifty  plants.  South  of  these  is  room  for  a  dozen  cur-' 
rant  bushes,  in  three  rows  of  four  each.  At  the  sides 
are  the  grape  borders,  three  feet  wide  the  whole 
length  of  the  lot,  there  being  room  for  sixteen  vines, 
eight  on  each  side. 

This  arrangement  of   the  lot  will  give  the  greatest 
space  to  the  plants  and  the  least  trouble  in  caring  for 


A    CITY   FRUIT    GARDEN. 


55 


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them,  with 
readyaccess 
to  all  the 
beds.  Once 
planted,  the 
rhubarband 
aspa  r  agu  s 
will  remain 
for  m  a  n  y 
years  with- 
out replant- 
ing. The 
grapes  will 
not  require 
re-  planting 
for  at  least 
ten  years, 
and  the  cur- 
rants will, 
with  care, 
keepinbear- 
ing  about 
six  years. 
The  straw- 
berries will 
last  two 
years,  and 
with  care 
three  years, 
without  re- 
newal. By 
using  these 
fruits  we  get 
rid  of  a  large 
part  of  the 
constant  re- 


56  MY   HANDKERCHIEF    GARDEN. 

planting  of  the  vegetable  garden,  and  the  investment 
once  made  pays  its  little  dividends  year  after  year. 
Of  course  the  first  cost  will  be  much  greater  than  for 
seeds,  but  this  is  offset  by  the  fact  that  the  invest- 
ment is  made  for  years  instead  of  weeks.  At  the 
regular  catalogue  rates  the  rhubarb  will  cost  about 
$i.oo  ;  75  asparagus  plants,  $i.oo  ;  350  straw^berries, 
$10.50  ;  12  currants,  $1.50,  and  16  grape  vines,  $8.00. 
This  would  be  $22.00  for  the  whole.  The  labor  of 
planting,  fertilizers  and  tools  would  be  the  only  addi- 
tional expense,  and  once  set  out  all  expense  would 
cease  for  at  least  two  years,  except  the  very  slight 
expense  of  keeping  the  place  in  good  order.  From 
November  15th  (in  latitude  of  New  York)  to  April 
15th  there  would  be  absolutely  no  outlay  whatever. 
On  the  other  hand,  we  must  forego  all  returns  till  the 
second  year,  and  even  then  be  content  with  only  par- 
tial returns  from  a  portion  of  the  in^^estment.  On 
the  third  year  everything  would  pay  a  dividend,  and 
with  the  exception  of  the  strawberries  continue  to 
pay  every  year  for  at  least  three  years,  and  for  the 
grapes,  asparagus  and  rhubarb  for  from  ten  to  twenty 
years  to  come.  It  costs  more  at  first,  yet  in  the  long 
run  the  fruit  garden  pays  as  well,  if  not  better,  than 
the  kitchen  garden. 

The  care  and  culture  of  such  a  handkerchief  fruit 
garden  is  simple  and  inexpensive,  and  when  once 
planted  consists  chiefly  in  keeping  the  ground  clean 
and  open  to  the  air.  As  in  building  a  house,  the  first 
care  is  to  get  a  secure  foundation,  so  in  our  fruit 
garden  the  first  consideration  is  the  soil.  It  must  be 
good  and  it  must  be  dry.  A  clay  soil,  where  the  rain 
lingers  on  the  surface  after  every  shower,  will  never 
do,  and  if  there  are  little  pools  to  be  seen  for  an  hour 
or  two  after  the  rain  has  ceased  to  fall,  the  place 
must  be  drained,  or  it  is  better  not  to  plant  anything. 


A    CITY   FRUIT   CARD  EAT.  57 

How  your  lot  is  to  be  drained  depends  on  so  many 
things  peculiar  to  your  soil  and  location,  that  you 
must  trust  wholly  to  yourself  or  some  competent 
neighbor  who  is  familiar  with  the  lay  or  slope  of  your 
land  and  its  immediate  neighborhood.  However,  as 
nearly  all  our  city  lots  are  carved  out  of  fields  and 
orchards  in  suburbs  and  "additions,"  there  is  usually 
no  need  of  drainage.  Besides,  water  in  the  soil  is  quite 
as  bad  for  you  and  your  babies  as  for  your  plants,  and 
it  is  not  to  be  presumed  you  would  consent  to  buy 
or  build  a  house  on  wet  land.  As  for  the  soil  itself, 
if  not  good,  it  can  usually  be  made  good  by  carting 
in  good  soil  from  some  field  or  pasture.  Commonly, 
in  newly  made  districts  in  the  borders  of  our  towns 
and  cities,  the  soil  is  good  enough  for  all  practical 
purposes.  All  that  it  will  probably  need  will  be 
plenty  of  manure.  Twenty-five  dollars'  worth  will 
be  little  enough,  and  if  you  can  afford  to  spend  twice 
as  much,  it  will  not  be  too  much.  We  are  planting 
now  once  for  all,  and  by  a  liberal  expenditure  now, 
money  will  be  saved  in  the  future.  If  you  have  pos- 
session of  the  place  in  the  fall,  by  all  means  have  the 
soil  carefully  spaded  up  and  left  rough  through  the 
winter.  By  so  doing,  the  soil  is  exposed  to  the  frost 
and  air  and  broken  up  fine,  and  eggs  of  insects  are 
destroyed.  All  the  plants,  except  the  strawberries, 
can  be  planted  in  the  fall,  but  as  there  is  a  certain 
amount  of  risk  from  injury  by  ice,  it  is  better  to 
plant  in  the  spring.  The  only  advantage  of  faU 
planting  is  the  time  gained,  as  every  one  is  in  a  huri  y 
in  the  spring,  and  unless  you  give  your  orders  early, 
the  plants  may  arrive  late  or  in  bad  condition. 

Let  us  look  at  each  crop  in  detail  for  a  moment. 
The  rhubarb  will  be  the  first  thing  to  start  in  the 
spring,  and  the  roots  must  be  set  out  as  early  as  pos- 
sible  after   the   frost  leaves   the   ground.     For   thi*^ 


58  MV  HANDKERCHIEF   GARDEN. 

reason  it  is  perhaps  better,  if  just  as  convenient,  to 
set  this  crop  in  the  fall.  The  soil  should  be  forked 
up  and  made  free  from  stones,  and  heavily  manured. 
If  spread  over  the  soil  two  or  three  inches  deep,  it 
will  not  be  too  much,  as  this  plant  has  a  tremendous 
appetite,  and  the  bigger  the  dinner  you  give  it,  the 
bigger  the  rhubarb  pies  it  will  give  you.  The  plants 
are  mere  clumps  of  fleshy  roots  and  should  be  set  at 
equal  distances  across  the  end  of  the  lot,  and  just 
deep  enough  to  have  the  top  or  crown  covered  about 
three  inches.  Spread  straw  or  manure  over  the  surface 
after  the  planting,  and  leave  the  bed  till  spring.  If 
planted  in  the  spring,  the  roots  must  be  obtained 
very  early  and  set  in  the  ground  with  the  deep  red 
buds  just  under  the  surface.  The  after-culture  the 
first  year  is  to  merely  keep  the  weeds  down,  and  there 
is  no  better  way  to  do  this  than  to  rake  the  soil  over 
lightly  after  every  rain.  When  flower  stalks  appear, 
cut  them  off  as  soon  as  they  rise  above  the  leaves. 
In  the  fall  spread  more  manure  over  the  surface 
around  the  plants,  as  soon  as  the  leaves  die  and  dis- 
appear. The  following  spring  the  first  crop  of  stalks 
can  be  gathered.  Do  not  be  too  greedy.  Give  the 
plants  a  chance  and  gather  only  a  few  from  each, 
rather  than  a  quantity  from  one.  Two  stalks  from 
each  plant  at  a  picking  is  enough,  and  once  a  week 
through  the  season  is  all  you  should  expect.  After 
that  year  perhaps  twice  as  much  can  be  taken  every 
year  for  many  years  to  come.  Take  good  care  of  the 
plants,  feed  them  well,  and  they  will  care  for  you  and 
supply  perhaps  the  best  early  crop  you  can  give  to 
the  young  folks  round  your  table. 

The  asparagus  bed  needs  a  richer  and  deeper  soil 
than  any  other  crop.  There  is  little  danger  of  plant- 
ing in  too  rich  a  soil,  for  you  must  remember  that 
the  bed  is  to  be  laid  down  once  for  all.  and  need  not 


A    CITY   FRUIT  GARDEN.  59 

bq  re-planted  for  twenty  years.  Spring  is  the  best 
time  to  plant  and  the  earlier  the  better,  for  the 
asparagus  is  among  the  first  to  stir  with  life  after  the 
frosts  have  gone.  The  roots  should  be  carefully 
plantied  in  rows  three  feet  apart,  taking  pains  to 
spread  them  out  carefully  in  a  shallow  trench,  about 
a  foot  apart  in  the  rows  and  with  the  point  of  the 
root  buried  about  three  inches.  As  soon  as  the  shoots 
appear  above  ground,  keep  the  soil  light  and  open 
till  the  shoots  begin  to  shade  the  ground  with  their 
tall  feathery  plumes.  The  weeds  will  then  die  out  in 
the  shade,  and  the  last  part  of  the  season  the  bed  will 
require  very  little  attention.  Do  not  cut  any  stalks, 
but  let  all  grow  as  they  will.  Your  object  the  first 
year  is  to  get  good  strong  plants,  and  you  must  wait 
till  the  following  spring  for  the  first  dividends  laid 
on  the  dinner  table. 

Strawberries  are  also  good  eaters,  and  it  will  pay 
well  to  treat  them  well.  Your  object  is  to  obtain  the 
greatest  possible  return  from  the  smallest  space,  and 
to  do  this  the  best  plan  is  to  set  the  plants  one  foot 
apart  each  way,  covering  the  entire  space  between 
the  walks.  As  the  plants  are  so  near,  you  must  not 
trouble  them  to  search  for  food.  Each  plant  must 
be  so  well  fed  that  it  is  content  to  stay  in  its  own 
limited  spot  of  soil  and  not  send  its  roots  wandering 
off  in  search  of  something  to  eat.  Neither  must  any 
plant  be  allowed  to  send  out  runners.  In  June  and 
July,  when  runners  appear,  they  must  be  rigorously 
cut  off.  If  taken  in  hand  early,  when  the  runners  are 
soft  and  green,  they  can  be  pulled  off  without  trouble. 
A  girl  of  ten  ought  to  keep  all  the  runners  down,  by 
going  over  the  bed  two  or  three  times  a  week  for 
about  a  month.  A  narrow  rake  is  the  best  tool  to 
keep  the  weeds  down  between  the  plants  and  to  keep 
the  soil  loose  after  rains.     When  the  ground  freezes 


60  MV   HANDKERCHIEF   GARDEN. 

in  December,  the  whole  bed  must  be  well  covered 
with  leaves  or  straw.  The  following  spring  it  should 
be  removed  as  soon  as  the  frost  is  out  of  the  ground, 
and  then  be  put  about  the  plants  when  the  crop  be- 
gins to  ripen  and  again  taken  off  after  the  crop  is 
gathered. 

The  twelve  currants  should  stand  in  three  rows, 
about  three  feet  apart  and  four  in  a  row.  The  first 
year  all  that  is  needed  is  good  rich  soil  and  constant 
regular  culture.  In  winter  the  plants  take  care  of 
themselves,  and  all  that  is  needed  is  to  leave  the  soil 
loose  and  well  broken  up  the  last  thing  in  the  fall. 
The  second  year  a  small  sample  crop  may  be  gathered 
just  by  way  of  encouragement.  The  third  year  the 
bushes  will  bear  abundantly.  The  bushes  are  greatly 
benefitted  by  careful  training.  Cut  out  each  spring 
all  stems  that  cross  other  stems  or  that  crowd  each 
other,  and  all  stems  that  show  signs  of  decay  or 
injury  from  any  cause.  The  chief  object  is  to  have 
open,  well  shaped  and  rather  short  bushes  with  clean, 
healthy  stems  and  free  from  suckers  or  adventurous 
shoots  springing  up  round  the  roots.  A  single  stem 
with  a  branching  head  is  perhaps  the  best  form. 

The  grapes  should  be  planted  in  the  spring  as 
early  as  convenient,  making  good  large  holes  in  the 
?oil  to  receive  the  roots,  and.  spreading  each  root 
out  carefully  in  its  proper  place.  An  entire  book 
might  be  written  on  the  training  of  grapes.  There 
ire  as  many  ways  as  there  are  varieties,  and  it  will  be 
Si  good  plan  to  read  some  good  book  on  the  grape 
and  its  culture  before  planting.  The  idea  on  which 
ail  systems  of  training  the  grape  vine  are  based  is 
very  simple.  The  fruit  is  borne  on  green  wood  of 
the  present  season  that  grows  out  of  ripe  wood  that 
grew  the  previous  season.  Your  object  must  always 
be  to  have  good  ripe  wood  from  which  next  year  will 


A    CITY   FRUIT    GARDEN.  61 

come  the  green  shoots  bearing  the  crop.  Your  young 
plant  will  consist  of  a  short  stem  with  half  a  dozen 
buds  (more  or  less)  and  a  bunch  of  roots.  In  the 
spring  nearly  all  of  these  buds  will  swell  and  send 
out  tender  young  shoots.  Wait  till  all  are  firmly 
started,  and  then  with  the  fingers  break  off  all  but 
the  largest  and  best  nearest  the  ground.  Do  not  use 
a  knife,  as  the  young  plant  may  "  bleed  "  or  lose  sap 
and  be  injured.  Then  carefully  train  this  one  shoot 
straight  up  the  trellis  or  fence,  tying  it  up  as  it  grows 
and  letting  it  grow  as  long  as  it  will.  About  the  middle 
of  August  pinch  off  the  tip  end  of  the  growing  shoot, 
and  the  green  wood  will  slowly  harden  or  ^'grow 
ripe"  through  the  fall  months.  If  side  shoots  start 
out  from  this  stem,  pinch  the  tips  of  each  as  soon  as 
they  appear  to  prevent  them  growing  any  longer. 
Better  one  good,  stout  shoot  or  cane,  thickly  covered 
with  buds,  than  six  poor,  thin  shoots  with  weak  buds. 
After  the  leaves  fall,  this  shoot  should  be  cut  down 
to  about  three  feet  from  the  ground.  You  now  have 
a  short,  stout  cane,  from  which  will  spring  next  year 
both  fruit-bearing  shoots  and  new  canes  for  another 
year. 

Having  obtained  a  good  cane  with  a  dozen  buds, 
any  system  of  training  may  be  followed  that  you 
fancy.  Permanent  canes  may  be  trained  along  the 
bottom  of  the  trellis,  or  spread  over  it  in  a  fan-shape, 
or  in  any  other  way  you  please,  provided  always  there 
is  space  between  the  canes  for  the  new  crop  of  wood 
that  bears  the  fruit  crop.  In  such  a  small  fruit  garden 
perhaps  the  best  plan  is  to  train  up  a  single  straight 
cane  to  the  top  of  the  fence,  and  to  keep  it  there  year 
after  year.  The  bearing  shoots  will  spread  out  three 
feet  on  each  side,  and  the  eight  vines  on  the  fence 
will  cover  all  the  wall  space  you  have.  The  training 
gf  grape  vines  is  an  accomplishment  well  worth  study- 


63  AfY   HANDKERCHIEF   GARDEN. 

ing.  It  demands  very  little  labor  and  gives  an  ad- 
mirable chance  to  show  that  you  are  skillful  at  artistic 
effects.  Nothing  is  more  pliable  than  a  grape  vine, 
and  with  taste  and  a  little  patience  your  fence  can  be 
made  to  produce  a  beautiful  effect,  to  say  nothing  of 
big  crops.  A  neglected  or  ill-trained  vine  is  simply 
ugly  and  unproductive.  A  well-trained  vine  is  both 
a  picture  and  a  continued  sourrce  of  pleasure.  Even 
in  winter  the  well  proportioned  canes,  neatly  tied  to 
the  trellis,  can  be  made  quite  effective  as  a  bit  of  wall 
decoration. 

This  use  of  a  city  yard  for  a  fruit  garden  costs  more 
at  first  than  if  the  lot  is  used  for  a  vegetable  garden, 
yet  it  pays  quite  as  well,  as  the  crops,  when  they  do 
come,  are  worth  more  and  last  longer.  The  whole 
plantation  is  in  the  nature  of  a  permanent  investment 
in  pleasure  and  profit.  The  rhubarb,  asparagus  and 
grapes  will  produce  with  care  regular  crops  every 
season  for  many  years,  and  even  the  currants  will  not 
require  renewal  more  than  once  in  ten  years.  The 
strawberry  bed  will  be  the  least  permanent,  as  it 
cannot  be  kept  in  good  condition  more  than  three  or 
four  years.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  easily  renewed 
in  one  season  and  by  a  judicious  system  of  re-plant- 
ing not  a  single  crop  need  be  lost,  though  occasion- 
ally only  half  a  crop  will  be  gathered,  while  a  portion 
of  the  bed  is  being  renewed.  The  best  way  to  do 
this  will  be  to  dig  up  and  throw  away  half  the  plants 
as  soon  as  the  crop  is  gathered,  and  to  re-plant  the 
ground  in  August.  These  plants  will  give  a  crop  the 
next  year,  when  the  rest  of  the  old  plants  can  be 
renewed  in  the  same  way.  It  is  the  same  with  the 
currants.  As  soon  as  the  bushes  begin  to  show  signs 
ot  giving  out,  pull  a  part  of  them  up  and  set  new 
plants.  It  will  be  found  a  good  plan  to  put  a  few 
cuttings  in  the  ground  each  fall  for  new  plants.     In 


THE   CONCLUSION  OF  THE   WHOLE  MATTER. 


63 


a  year  they  will  be  well  rooted,  and  can  be  used  to 
take  the  place  of  any  of  the  old  plants  that  are  worn 
out  or  injured  by  insects. 


CHAPTER   X. 


Ti)G  mwum^vi  OF 

TRG  mf)OLe  mATTGR. 

tqCTOBER  days,  and  every  gar- 
den finds   its  crop  of  facts, 
fruits  and  figures.  My  hand- 
kerchief garden  in  this  year 
of  grace,  1888,  gave  a  variety 
of  good  things  each  in  its  season,  all 
of  which  were  eaten  with  a  cheerful 
spirit.     And   herewith   are   the   facts 
and  figures.      There  were   dry   days 
and  wet,  total  failures  and  big  suc- 
cesses, weeds  and  bugs,  lots  of  good, 
hard  work,  and  altogether  a  fair  return  for  the  labor 
and  money  spent.     Once  or  twice  the  crops  overran 
the  home  market.     The  Early  Jersey  Wakefield    and 
Early  Summer  cabbages  ripened   at  about   the    same 
time,  the  first   heads  coming  July   15th   and   the  last 
being  disposed  of  August  8th.     A  family  of  three  can 
hardly  master  twelve  heads  ripe  at  one  time,  and  as 
the  industrious  slug  was  always  ready  to  lend  a  hand 
a  large  part  of  the  crop  was  sacrificed  on  the  altar  of 
friendship.       It    was    the    same     with     cauliflowers. 
Eighteen   Early  Snowballs   at  one  time  was  a  little 


64  MY  HANDKERCHIEF   GARDEN. 

too  much  of  a  good  thing,  and  the  surplus  was  pre- 
sented to  appreciative  neighbors. 

Herein  is  one  of  the  great  advantages  of  a  home 
lot — it  tends  to  cultivate  a  generous  heart  in  the  gar- 
dener and  a  thankful  spirit  in  his  friends.  You  are 
pretty  sure  to  have  at  times  more  than  you  want,  and 
there  is  no  better  compliment  to  pay  to  a  friend  than 
a  basket  of  fresh  vegetables,  wet  with  the  dew,  and 
right  out  of  the  home  garden.  People  receive  it  with 
an  expression  that  seems  to  say,  *'  How  very  sweet  in 
you,  to  be  sure,"  and  back  comes  the  basket  with  a 
note  of  thanks  calculated  to  fill  the  heart  with  the 
conviction  that  the  world  is  not  all  a  hollow  show 
after  all.  There  is  one  thing  you  can  always  present  to 
a  lady,  and  that's  a  flower.  Why  not  a  cauliflower? 
Is  not  a  cabbage  a  green  rose?  Pull  off  the  outer 
petals  till  the  white  heart  begins  to  shine,  pack  it  in 
a  neat  basket  and  send  it  to  your  friend's  table.  If 
she's  a  housemother  with  a  soul  above  Kensington 
crewel  she  will  say,  and  say  truly,  it  is  beautiful. 
Green  lawns  and  shrubbery  have  their  own  glory,  but 
there  is  also  a  glory  of  the  cabbage  patch  and, 
though  *'the  glory  of  one  star"  may  not  be  "as  the 
glory  of  another  star,"  who  shall  say  which  is  the 
greater  glory  ? 

My  home  lot  account  was  opened  November  ist, 
1887.  There  were  then  on  hand  in  the  garden  sixty- 
four  plants  of  the  Jessie  strawberry,  worth  say  64 
cents,  a  lot  of  currant  cuttings  worth  §1,  tools,  flower 
pots  and  odd  things  worth  $2,  giving  a  stock  on  hand 
to  begin  the  year  of  $2.64.  There  was  paid  out  be- 
tween that  time  and  September  5th,  1888,  just  $14.64. 
Of  this  $4.40  was  for  200  pounds  of  Mape's  fertilizer, 
$1.10  for  materials  for  a  cold  frame  covered  with  pro- 
tective cloth  and  $1.75  for  labor.  Of  course,  if  this 
sum  had  been  invested   in   vegetables  it  would   have 


THE  CONCLUSION  OF   THE   WHOLE  MATTER.     65 

supplied   the   table    for   our   small    family   for  many- 
weeks.     Did  it  pay  to  spend  it  on  the  home  lot? 

The  first  return  from  the  garden  came  on  May  17th 
For  the  first  ten  days  radishes  were  the  only  cheering 
thing  to  suggest  the  spring.  Then  the  spinach  began 
on  May  26th,  and  soon  came  in  a  flood.  By  the 
first  week  in  June  young  onions,  beet  tops  and  lettuce 
began  to  add  a  pleasant  variety.  On  the  17th  peas 
came  also,  and  on  the  23d  strawberries.  On  the  24th 
the  first  delicate  heads  of  young  cabbage,  and  two 
days  later  the  first  potatoes.  Beans  and  cauliflowers 
welcomed  July,  and  then  there  was  more  than  the 
home  market  could  absorb.  On  the  first  day  of 
August  the  total  receipts  from  the  garden,  at  the 
retail  prices  reported  by  The  American  Garden  and 
in  the  village  stores,  amounted  to  just  $23.10,  or  $8.13 
in  money  value  over  the  cash  cost. 

Through  August  the  crops  kept  the  table  supplied 
with  everything  needed.  Cucumbers  came  into  bear- 
ing on  the  first  of  the  month,  and  tomatoes  soon  after. 
On  several  days  there  were  five  kinds  of  vegetables 
served  at  one  meal.  There  were  no  days  without 
one,  with  two  for  an  average.  The  crop  of  early 
potatoes  was  very  small — a  practical  failure — and  as 
there  was  no  room  for  more,  potatoes  had  to  be  pur- 
chased again  by  the  last  of  August.  As  it  was,  one 
peck  of  choice  potato  seed  supplied  a  crop  that 
carried  the  house  for  six  weeks,  this  being  a  decided 
failure.  Turnips  and  beets  did  not  do  very  well,  ex- 
cept a  small  lot  of  beets  on  trial  Among  the  best 
of  the  beets  are  the  New  Eclipse  and  the  Early 
Dewing.  The  seed  was  from  Philadelphia,  and  the 
beets  proved  of  excellent  quality.  The  Eclipse  grew 
to  enormous  size,  and  were  of  fine  flavor.  Of  onions 
a  row  of  white  silverskin  onions  proved  to  be  of 
medium   size,  but  of  fine   quality  ;  name  not  known. 


66  A/V   HANDKERCHIEF   CARD  EX. 

Cory  corn  was  tried,  but  proved  a  total  failure.  Th 
late  crops  of  peas  were  also  complete  failures  Ot 
squashes  I  tried,  at  the  request  of  The  American 
Garden,  the  Sibley  Winter  squash.  It  proved  to  be 
a  small  smooth,  pale  gieen  squash  of  superior  flavor. 
The  plants  were  enormous  growers,  but  the  crop  was 
small  and  late.  The  Woodbury  squash  also  proved 
to  be  a  vigorous  plant,  but  with  me  a  poor  bearer, 
one  hill  of  four  plants  producing  only  three  good 
squashes,  resembling  in  appearance  a  Hubbard  squash. 
A  new  red  cabbage  sent  to  me  grew  to  a  very  great 
size,  with  round,  compact  heads.  So  much  for  a  few 
experiments.  A  home  lot  always  has  its  advantage — 
it  is  at  once  school,  experimental  station  and  a  source 
of  amusement.  You  never  can  tell  how  things  will 
turn  out.  The  beautiful  pictures  of  the  seed  cata- 
logues are  even  more  splendid  in  reality  at  times,  and 
then  at  times  they  lead  to  a  high  opinion  of  the  lively 
imagination  of  the  artists.  Even  with  the  losses  it 
pays  to  try  things,  just  for  the  sake  of  finding  out  for 
yourself.  However,  if  you  are  looking  for  profit  and 
not  facts,  don't  do  it. 

After  the  first  of  June  the  home  lot  took  very  little 
labor  or  time.  A  good  raking  of  the  ground  once  or 
twice  a  week  kept  the  soil  in  good  order,  and  fifteen 
minutes  or  less  every  morning  served  to  gather  the 
crops.  Up  to  September  ist  the  garden  had  produced 
crops  valued  at  the  retail  price  at  $28.64.  By  the 
middle  of  September,  $36.79.  There  were  then  on 
hand  and  unconsumed  in  the  garden  200  good  plants 
of  celery,  which,  at  8  cents  each,  would  be  $16,  and 
sundry  other  vegetables,  including  a  large  patch  of 
spinach,  about  $2  more.  Among  other  things  pro- 
duced were  ninety  good  yearling  currant  bushes  and 
about  forty  grape  vines  raised  from  cuttings.  The 
currants  would  cost  at  least   10  cents  each  were  I  to 


THE   CONCLUSION   OF   THE   WHOLE  MATTER.     61 

buy  them  for  the  new  garden  I  propose  to  plant  next 
year,  and  this  is  a  fair  return  from  the  garden  of  $9 
The  grape  cuttings  are  also  intended  for  the  new 
place  and  will  save  at  least  10  cents  each,  as  they  are 
all  choice  kinds,  thus  making  a  return  of  $4.  These 
things  are  as  much  a  crop  as  cauliflowers.  They  save 
buying  plants  next  spring,  and  it  is  perfectly  fair  to 
add  them  to  the  returns  from  the  garden,  Had  they 
not  been  wanted,  of  course  the  ground  would  have 
produced  some  other  crop  of  less  or  equal  value. 
The  strawberry  bed  of  sixty-four  plants  gave  also  200 
new  plants,  their  value  at  i  cent  each  being  included 
in  the  return  from  the  garden. 

The  sixty-four  Jessie  strawberry  plants  in  my 
garden  gave  us,  between  June  21st  and  July  7th,  just 
23  quarts  of  very  fine  strawberries.  The  berries  were 
uniformly  large,  some  of  the  very  largest  berries  be- 
ing picked  in  the  last  quart.  The  place  is  too  shaded 
for  the  best  results,  and  I  think  with  more  sunshine 
and  a  trifle  more  rain  they  would  have  done  much 
better.  The  flavor  is  ''  piney,"  bright  and  spicy.  We 
bought  no  berries  at  the  stores,  as  these  were  so  fine. 
I  propagated  extensively  for  a  new  plantation  for 
next  year.  I  would  decidedly  recommend  the  Jessie 
for  small  gardens  and  as  a  rather  late  crop.  My 
patch  was  entirely  in  hills,  one  foot  apart  each  way, 
and  carried  a  crop  of  lettuce  between  the  plants  early 
in  the  spring.  Such  close  planting  is  a  bit  trouble- 
some in  gathering  the  crop,  yet  if  you  have  only  a 
home  lot  it  must  be  done  where  profit  is  to  be  re- 
garded. 

As  a  whole  my  particular  home  lot  was  a  happy 
one.  Nearly  everything  bore  fair  crops,  and  at  dif- 
ferent times  during  the  season  my  table  was  supplied 
with  the  following  fruits  and  vegetables  :  Strawber- 
ries, radish,  peas,  spinach,  onions,  beans,  lettuce,  tur- 


68  MY   HANDKERCHIEF   GARDEN'. 

nips,  beets,   carrots,   tomatoes,  cabbage,   cauliflower, 
Upland  cress,  chicory,  potatoes,  squashes,  cucumbers 
parsnips  and   celery.      From    a    housekeeping    point 
of   view  really  cheering  ;    from  a  financial    point   of 
view  quite  as  cheerful. 

The  grand  total  produced  in  the  garden  during  the 
season  was  $54.79  for  fruit  and  vegetables  actually 
consumed.  The  season  began  with  a  stock  on  hand 
of  tools,  plants,  cuttings,  etc.,  of  $2.64.  It  ends  with 
a  stock  of  ninety  currants  at  ten  cents,  $9  ;  forty 
grapevines  at  ten  cents,  $4  ;  200  strawberry  plants  val- 
ued at  $2  ;  tools,  etc.,  $3  ;  making  a  total  of  $18.  This 
is  real  profit,  and  should  be  credited  to  the  garden, 
for  the  new  stock  of  plants  helps  to  reduce  the  cost 
of  the  new  garden  to  be  planted  next  year.  My  home 
lot  was  a  nursery  as  well  as  a  garden,  and  returned  a 
nurseryman's  profits,  and  the  whole  of  his  profits,  be- 
cause the  stock  if  bought  must  be  paid  for  at  retail 
prices. 

Did  the  home  lot  pay?  Was  the  return  sufficient 
for  the  labor?  It  was,  and  the  garden  did  pay,  be- 
cause the  time  spent  on  it  was  odd  time  not  available 
for  other  work.  Besides  this,  the  work  was  a  pleasure 
and  a  sanitary  measure,  paying  a  big  dividend  in  red 
blood,  sound  sleep,  a  good  appetite  and  a  cheerful 
spirit.  If  you  have  ever  been  sick  and  paid  doctor's 
bills  you  will  know  just  what  these  things  are  worth 
in  hard  cash.  The  cost  in  money  was  $14.64  and 
about  thirty  days'  labor  between  March  and  Novem- 
ber. The  entire  return,  including  new  stock  valued 
at  $15,  was  $69.79.  Taking  cash  spent  from  this  leaves 
$55-i5>  or  about  $1.80  for  each  day's  labor  spent  in 
the  garden.  Of  course  if  the  labor  had  all  been  hired 
at  the  regular  rate  here  of  $2  the  garden  would  have 
been  carried  on  at  a  loss. 

This  brings  the  whole  matter  down  to  a  business 


THE   CONCLUSION  OF  THE   WHOLE  MATTER.     69 

basis,  where  you  can  settle  for  yourself  whether  it 
will  pay  you  to  have  a  home  lot  garden.  Is  your 
time  worth  so  much  (and  it  will  have  to  be  worth  a 
good  deal  more  than  the  average )  that  your  unem- 
ployed minutes  afternoons  and  before  breakfast  are 
worth  more  than  i8  cents  an  hour?  If  they  are  a 
home  lot  will  not  pay  you.  If  they  are  not,  and  if  you 
consider  health,  fresh  and  superior  vegetable  food 
worth  anything,  then  a  home  lot  will  pay  you,  as  it 
did  me,  big  dividends.  For  the  great  majority  of 
families,  particularly  where  there  are  young  people 
who  can  help  out-of-doors,  a  home  lot  will  make  just 
the  difference  between  profit  and  loss,  between  money 
in  the  savings  bank  and  unpaid  bills  at  the  stores. 
The  home  lot  is  the  one  reliable  asset  in  your  little 
property  that  will  neither  fail,  fly  away  to  Canada 
nor  pass  its  dividends — the  one  partnership  in  which 
you  will  always  hold  a  controlling  interest. 

Look  at  it  in  any  way  you  will,  keep  a  garden  for 
pleasure  or  profit  or  health,  you  may  set  it  down  as 
your  personal  as  well  as  national  duty  to  make  the 
most  of  the  land  that  has  been  given  to  you.  It  is 
my  belief  that  every  man  who  has  a  bit  of  land  is 
bound  to  consider  it  as  a  trust  whereof  he  shall  ren- 
der account  and  wherewith  he  should  do  his  best  to 
make  the  earth  bring  forth  her  increase  for  the  benefit 
of  himself,  his  folks  and  the  rest  of  the  republic. 


THE    END. 


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